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MARY STUART. 



THE LIFE 

OF 

MARY STUART 

QUEEN OF SCOTLAND 



ABRIDGED FROM AGNES STRICKLAND'S 
"QUEENS OF SCOTLAND" 

BY 

ROSALIE KAUFMAN 



JFullg JIllustratEt) 



-<^^ OF co^Jq;? >^ 




BOSTON 

ESTES AND LAURIAT, PUBLISHERS 

1887 



■ ft5$f 



Copyright, 1886, 
By Estes and Lauriat. 



Electrotyped by 
C. J. Peters and Son, Boston. 




MARY STUART. 



MARY STUART. 



PREFACE. 



The success of " The Queens of England " encourages 
the belief that a similar work on the Queens of Scotland 
will be warmly welcomed. It can scarcely fail to excite 
interest, the events connected with the lives of the sove- 
reigns of both countries being so closely interwoven that 
they have been pronounced links in the same family chain. 
Those who have read the biography of Queen Elizabeth 
will observe how she influenced the destiny of Mary Stuart, 
though the two monarchs never met. Each was a star 
shining in a distinct orbit, while casting light on the 
other. 

The earlier Queens of Scotland have not been consid- 
ered sufficiently important to engage the attention of many 
historians ; but as a prelude to the times in which Mary 
Stuart reigned, they ought to be carefully studied. As for 
the character of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the motives 
which prompted her actions, it is scarcely possible, even 
after the lapse of three centuries, to form a correct judg- 
ment, though hundreds of volumes have been written on 
the subject by biographers of divers religious and political 
opinions. As we have followed Strickland exclusively, 

7 



8 Preface. 

the most favorable of Mary's traits have been made promi- 
nent ; and, though her faults receive notice, she appears 
the victim of party prejudice and a martyr to her religion. 
As such, our sympathies are aroused in her behalf, and we 
are led to condemn in the statesmen who controlled her 
fate the very actions which others have pronounced com- 
mendable. It is only by careful study of the sixteenth cen- 
tury and of the condition of Europe that our readers may 
hope to form opinions for themselves on the question as to 
whether Mary Stuart was or was not guilty of the crimes 
ascribed to her. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Mary Stuart . Frontispiece 

Catherine de Medicis 23 

Claude de Lorraine 27 

Henry II ■ 35 

Francis II. and Mary ......... 4^ 

Prince de Conde 44 

^ Francis II. 47 

^ Joust where Henry II. was wounded 5^ 

. Deathbed of Henry II 55 

t Francis de Lorraine 59 

Execution of Amboise 63 

Deathbed of Francis II 67 

Mary landing at Leith 81 

Ruins of Holyrood Chapel 85 

Knox and Mary 89 

John Knox lOi 

Death of Guise "3 

Philip II. of Spain 121 

- Henry III ^Zl 

<^ Calvin '39 

L William Cecil 161 

t. Lord Darnley '°5 

Holyrood House ^75 

Mary 187, 209 

Murder of Riccio ^95 

Charles IX. of France 213 



Illnstratio7is. 



Elizabeth 



229 



^ Edinburgh Castle 255 

' Street in Edinburgh 263 

I Holyrood Palace 271 

'' Charles V. of Germany ........ 279 

Edinburgh Castle and Hill 291 

Medallion Portrait of Mary 295 

• Mary Surrenders at Carberry Hill ...... 305 

Lochleven Castle 313 

'' Mary about to sign her resignation at Lochleven . . . 319 

James I. 327 

Holyrood 333 

Edinburgh, Castle, and H61yrood 355 

1 Queen Mary 367 

Don Carlos ........... 379 

Don John of Austria 391 

Mary in Prison 413 

'' An English Hall 419 

The St. Bartholomew 429 

I Edinburgh Castle 445 

Queen Mary Protesting against the Commissioners . , . 457 

Mary Stuart swearing she had never sought Elizabeth's life . 465 

Mary Bidding Farewell to her Attendants 475 

Earl of Essex 481 



MARY STUART. 



Born, 1542; Died, 1587. 



CHAPTER I. 

More books have been written about Mary Stuart than 
about all the other queens in the world put together ; yet 
the question of her guilt or innocence is still open to dis- 
cussion, though three centuries have elapsed since her 
death. Of course the facts connected with her career are 
the same with every historian. But the pen of each has 
colored them from his point of view ; and an action that 
appears angelic to one is pronounced demoniacal by 
another. 'Creed and party principle have had much to 
do towards influencing the various opinions ; but it must 
be borne in mind that with three notorious exceptions, — 
Queen Elizabeth, Catherine de Medicis, and the Countess 
of Shrewsbury, — Mary had no enemies among her own 
sex ; and surely, the moral standard erected by women for 
one another is not lower than that which is required of 
them by men. No female witnesses from the unfortunate 
queen's household came forward to testify against her, 
even after she had lost the power to purchase their 
secrecy ; and not one of the ladies of her court, whether 
Catholic or Protestant, lifted up her voice in censure. 
Certainly she is, and has ever been, an object of tender 
and romantic interest, her name throwing that of every 
Other queen of Scotland into the shade. With the partic- 

15 



1 6 Mary Stuart. 

ulars of every period of her life, which have come to light 
after the lapse of years, a better opportunity is afforded of 
forming an impartial judgment ; and our readers will be 
enabled to decide for themselves whether Mary Stuart 
was innocent or guilty of the extraordinary crime of 
which she was accused. 

[A.D. 1542.] This princess first saw the light in Lin- 
lithgow Palace ; and there was no little disappointment 
expressed because she was not a prince ; for, as her royal 
father was on his deathbed, the Scottish people had looked 
forward with some impatience to the birth of an heir to 
the throne, who might, in course of time, rule them with 
a powerful hand. The king himself died without bequeath- 
ing her his blessing, and from the moment of her birth 
controversy attended her. She was born in troublous 
times, and while still in her cradle danger threatened her 
from various quarters. Scarcely were her royal father's 
eyes closed in death when the Earl of Arran claimed the 
regency of the realm, and threatened to tear her from her 
mother's arms. In the biography of Mary of Lorraine, it 
has been shown with what pertinacity the queen-mother 
struggled to retain possession of her child, and how she 
kept her constantly in her own apartments, fearing to lose 
sight of the coveted infant. 

Janet Sinclair, wife of John Kemp of Haddington, 
was chosen to nurse the little Queen of Scotland ; and 
she performed her office so faithfully that everybody who 
was permitted to visit the nursery pronounced her charge 
" a fair and goodly babe." 

As soon as Henry VIII. of England heard of the acces- 
sion of his grandniece to the throne of Scotland, his first 
thought was how he could contrive to get her inheritance 
into his own hands ; and, as a pretext, he demanded her 
as a wife for his son. Prince Edward. When she was 



1542. Mary Stiiart. 17 

little more than four months old, he made known his 
intention to invade Scotland, both by sea and land, unless 
the royal infant were placed in his possession. But as 
the people and the laws of Scotland were opposed to such 
a step, it was agreed that she should be sent to England 
when she was ten years old, and that meanwhile forty 
officials from among King Henry's subjects should have 
places in her household. 

The able manner in which Mary of Lorraine managed 
to elude the vigilance of both Arran and Henry VHI., 
and to get herself and her infant safe within the walls of 
Stirling Castle, has been recounted in the biography of 
that queen. 

In the bracing, invigorating air of Stirling little Mary 
grew rapidly, cut her teeth as other babies do, and had the 
customary number of infantile disorders. But, unlike 
ordinary infants, she was engaged to be married when she 
was scarcely nine months old ; for the treaty of peace with 
England, which included the contract for her union with 
her cousin Edward, was signed and sealed on the 23d of 
August, 1543, at the Abbey of Holyrood. 

After this act was performed, Sir Ralph Sadler, the 
English ambassador, entered into a conversation about it 
with Sir Adam Otterbourne, a Scotch statesman, and en- 
larged on the benefits to both realms to be derived from 
the alliance. " Why, think you that the treaty will be 
performed ? " asked Otterbourne. *' Why not ? " returned 
Sadler. " I assure you it is impossible, for our people do 
not like it," was the reply ; " and though our governor 
and some of the nobility for certain reasons have con- 
sented to it, yet I know that few or none of them do like 
it, and our common people do utterly dislike it." Sadler 
pronounced this feeling unnatural, and said that God had 
ordained it as a special favor to both realms that they 



^ 



Mary Stuart. 



should be united by the marriage of the Prince of England 
and the Scottish queen. " I pray you," said Otterbourne, 
"give me leave to ask you a question: If your lad 
were a lass, and our lass a lad, would you then be so 
earnest in this matter, and could you be content that our 
lad should be king of England ? " " Considering the 
great good that might ensue from it, I should not be a 
friend to my country if I did not desire it," answered 
Sadler. "Well," rejoined the Scotchman, "if you had the 
lass, and we the lad, we might be well content with it ; but 
I cannot believe that your nation would agree to have a 
Scot for King of England ; and I assure you that our 
nation, being a stout one, will never agree to have an 
Englishman King of Scotland ; and though the whole 
nobility of the realm would consent to it, yet our common 
people and the stones in the street would rise and rebel 
against it." 

[A.D. 1543.] Otterbourne was right ; for in less than a 
fortnight after the signing of the treaty, it was ruptured, 
because Governor Arran found it impossible to furnish 
the hostages Henry had demanded. Besides, he was 
ashamed of the compact he had consented to, and alarmed 
at the threats of the people, who accused him of having 
sold their queen to the English. He therefore made 
haste to undo his work, and formed a sudden friendship 
with Cardinal Beton, his former enemy, who reconciled 
him to the queen-mother. Then prompt measures were 
taken for the coronation of the infant sovereign ; and the 
ceremony was performed in Stirling church, on Sunday, 
Sept. 9, 1543. 

Enveloped in regal robes, little Mary was carried from 
her nursery, and borne in solemn procession, with her 
lord keepers and officers of state, across the green to the 
church, where she was presented to her people as Sovereign 



1543- Mary Stuart. 19 

Lady of Scotland and the Isles. The crown was carried by 
Governor Arran, as the first prince of the blood royal of 
Scotland, and heir of the realm. The Earl of Lennox bore 
the sceptre, as next in degree ; but who acted as sponsor 
in pronouncing the coronation oath, who held the infant 
while the office of consecration was performed by Cardi- 
nal Beton, and who placed the crown upon her infant 
brow, the sceptre in the little hand, and girded her with 
the sword of state, there are no records to tell. Probably 
they were destroyed by the traitors who that day swore to 
defend their sovereign at the peril of life and limb. But 
we are informed that the babe wept, and it was observed 
with superstitious terror that she continued to do so 
throughout the ceremony. In this she did not differ from 
most infants of nine months ; for she suddenly found her- 
self separated from her nurse and mother, and placed 
amongst strange men, whom she had never seen before, 
while a crowd stood around gazing at her and uttering 
loud acclamations, with trumpet blasts for accompaniment. 
Then every prelate and peer had to kneel in turn before 
the throne and place his hand on the child's head, while 
repeating the oath of allegiance to be loyal and true. 
Is it to be wondered at that she wept during such an 
ordeal ? 

Henry VIII. was so angry when he heard that the coro- 
nation had been solemnized without his leave that he 
ordered little Mary to be seized, during her mother's 
absence, and conveyed to England. But her mother did 
not leave her at all ; besides, she was so closely watched 
that the ambassador reported it as utterly impossible to 
obey his sovereign unless the castle were besieged, and 
that even then the child could easily be conveyed to the 
Highlands by her keepers, where she could not even be 
approached. Henry was baffled ; but he regarded the 



20 Mary Stuart. 

harmless babe with vindictive hatred because she, and her 
realm with her, had not been surrendered into his unscru- 
pulous hands. 

[A.D. 1547.] In consequence of the disastrous battle 
of Pinkie Cleugh, the young queen was removed for safety 
from Stirling to the priory on Inchmahome Island, a beau- 
tiful, picturesque spot, famous for its fine Spanish chestnut 
trees. She was accompanied by her mother, her nurse, 
Janet Sinclair, and her four young namesakes, playmates, 
classmates, and maids of honor, Mary Beton, Mary Seton, 
Mary Livingstone, and Mary Fleming. There were also 
her tutors, her governess, and her lord keeper, Living- 
stone, besides less important members of her household. 
In the cloister shades of Inchmahome Mary Stuart pur- 
sued her studies, with her four little friends, under the 
care of John Erskine, the prior, and her schoolmaster, 
Alexander Scott, parson of Balmaclellan. f Although only 
five years old when she was taken to the priory, little 
Mary had already made considerable progress in her 
studies, under her mother's tuition. She spoke French 
well, and she now began to study history, geography, and 
Latin, and her governess. Lady Fleming, gave her lessons 
in tapestry work and embroidery. She looked wonderfully 
pretty in the quiet retreat that had been selected for her ; 
for the Highland costume in which she was attired was 
most picturesque and becoming. Her bright golden 
tresses were tied back with rose-colored satin ribbon, and 
she wore a tartan scarf gracefully draped over black silk 
and fastened with a golden clasp engraved with the united 
arms of Scotland and Lorraine. She was so charmins: 
in her manners that all hearts were attracted towards her; 
and, from her masters down to the simple fishermen and 
mountaineers of the neighborhood, she was universally 
adored. 



1548- Mary Stuart. 21 

[A.D. 1548.] As Queen of Inchmahome, Mary Stuart 
played her little games with her juvenile court on the 
shores of the placid lake, ^studied her lessons, and passed 
the days in unconscious happiness, while her royal mother 
was attending the conventions at Haddington to arrange 
articles for her marriage with the Dauphin Francis de 
Valois. At last it was agreed that the little queen should 
be sent to France to continue her education ; and the 
happy island home was broken up. The household 
removed to Dumbarton to await the arrival of the French 
galleys, and on the 7th of August they embarked for their 
.new home. It was with heavy hearts and many bittei 
tears that Mary of Lorraine and her daughter bade each 
other farewell, for they were separating for the first time ; 
but the child's safety required the sacrifice, and the loving 
mother did not hesitate. The Queen of Scots was placed 
in charge of De Breze, Seneschal of Normandy, who 
received her in the name of his sovereign ; and she was 
accompanied by her faithful lord keepers, Livingstone and 
Erskine, her preceptors, her nurse, about a hundred per- 
sons of quality of both sexes, and the four little Marys. 

The English Regent, Somerset, being duly informed by 
one of his spies of the intention of the queen-mother to 
send the infant sovereign to France, ordered out l;is fleet 
to waylay her, and carry her to Englartd instead ; but the 
French commander kept well out of the way. The voyage 
was so stormy that all the ladies and most of the gentle- 
men on shipboard suffered severely from sea-sickness ; 
but the coast of Bretagne was made at last, and, as a 
fearful storm was prevailing, the fleet ran into the little 
port of Roscoff, among the rocks, at that time a nest of 
pirates and smugglers. 

On the 20th of August, Mary and her train arrived at 
the city of Morlaix, where the Lord of Rohan and all 



22 Mary Stuart. 

the nobility of the district had assembled to receive the 
illustrious stranger, and to conduct her to the Dominican 
convent, where she was to sleep. It was considered 
necessary for her to remain at Morlaix for a couple of 
days, to recover from the fatigue and illness caused by 
the voyage ; and so great was the concourse of people 
from all quarters who pressed into the town to obtain a 
sight of her, that the gates were thrown from their 
hinges, and the chains from all the bridges were broken 
down. 

When little Mary and her attendants had rested, the 
journey was resumed by short stages towards the palace 
of St. Germain. 

Mary had been consigned particularly to the care of 
her grandmother, the Duchesse de Guise ; but it was ar- 
ranged that she should stay at St. Germain for a while ; 
and during that time she received instruction with her 
future consort, as the following letter from the king 
to Monsieur de Humieres, the dauphin's governor, 
proves : — 

*' My Cousin, — Forasmuch as Paul de Rege, present 
bearer, is a very good ballet-dancer, and is, moreover, of 
very worthy and estimable conditions, I have been advised 
to appoint him to teach my son, the dauphin, how to 
dance ; and also, at the same time, my daughter, the Queen 
of Scotland, and the young gentlemen and ladies at present 
in the service of both, and my other children. For this 
purpose do you present him to my son ; and make him 
lodge and eat with the other ofificers." 

[A.D. 1549.] Mary profited so well by the lessons of 
Paul de Rege that, in the course of a few weeks, she and 
her young partner, the dauphin, danced together before 
the king and queen, the foreign ambassadors, and the 



1549- 



Mary Stuart. 



23 



entire court, at the marriage fete of the Due d'Aumale, 
and attracted universal admiration. Mary inherited from 
both her parents a passionate love of music, to which she 
devoted a great deal of time ; and she was fond of poetry 




^■^■^W: 



^■CO'- J" 

CATHERINE DE MEDICIS. 



besides. Being half- French and half-Scotch, she was full 
of vivacity and energy, and entered into all sorts of sports 
and games with the most inspiriting glee, the ardor of her 
temperament manifesting itself in whatever she did. 

The little queen remained at St. Germain until the 
princesses of France were sent for a while to the convent 
of Poissy, when she was removed to Blois. An alteration 



24 Mary Stuart. 

was then made in the arrangement of the Scotch part of 
her estabHshment, probably by Catherine de Medicis, 
for whom she had conceived a dishke from the first; and 
great offence was caused thereby to Janet Sinclair, the 
nurse. Mistress Janet was deprived of her authority in 
the nursery department, and cheated out of her allowance 
of wine, fire, and candles. She was, besides, compelled 
to sit at table with two Frenchwomen, whom she consid- 
ered, neither in morals nor standing, fit company for 
her ; and she was not a person to bear such indignities 
calmly. She therefore appealed to the grandmother of 
her royal charge, who remonstrated with Monsieur de 
Humieres ; but in vain. Janet then wrote a full account 
of her wrongs to the queen-mother in Scotland, adding 
a complaint of her low wages and the unpunctuality 
of payment. The king was forthwith informed, by letter 
from Mary of Lorraine, of the disputes between Janet and 
the French authorities in the Palace of Blois ; and before 
many weeks everything was arranged to the entire satis- 
faction of the nurse, who retained her situation about 
the young queen without any further interference. 

[A.D. 1550.] The eagerly longed for meeting between 
Mary and her mother did not take place until the follow- 
ing September, when, after being warmly embraced, the 
little queen delivered a formal speech of welcome in the 
presence of the assembled courts of France and Scotland. 
This was her introduction into public life ; and everybody 
was struck by her beauty, grace, amiability, and charming 
ways. Her appearance at the brilliant pageants and 
royal fetes at this time, as well as the attempt which was 
made to poison the little queen, have been related in the 
life of Mary of Lorraine. 

[A.D. 155 1.] In July the mother and daughter parted 
never to meet again ; and their separation was quickly 



1 551- Mary Stuart. 25 

followed by the death of the Due de Longueville, Mary's 
half-brother. This sad event had the good effect of with- 
drawing the young queen from public life, and affording 
her an opportunity to continue her studies uninterrup- 
tedly. It was to her brother, the Cardinal Lorraine, that 
the queen-mother had confided the education of her child ; 
and he had replaced Lady Fleming by Madame Parois, a 
Roman Catholic devotee, because he desired his niece to 
observe rigidly all the principles of that church. Mary 
loved her uncle as though he had been her father ; and 
she yielded to him implicit obedience. He in turn watched 
over her tenderly, and paid great attention to the cultiva- 
tion of her intellect. Under his auspices she became an 
excellent Latin and Italian scholar, and gained consid- 
erable knowledge of .Greek, geography, and history; and 
he took care that her music and needlework were not 
neglected. Her uncle Francis, Due de Guise, loved her 
more dearly than any of his own children, and sometimes 
feared that such an amount of study might impair her 
health ; therefore, from time to time, he would carry her 
off to his fine chateau at Meudon, for change of scene and 
occupation. When there, he would put her on a horse, 
and take her with him to hunt, entertaining her with tales 
of his martial deeds, and using his ingenuity to prepare 
agreeable surprises and pleasures for the child. He lav- 
ished gifts on her, and indulged her in every possible 
way ; while she in return loved him with all the ardor of 
a fond and grateful little girl. 

[A.D, 1552.] In the winter of 1552 Mary accompanied 
the King and Queen of France and their children to the 
castle of Amboise, where they spent some time together. 

When the little queen reached her tenth year, it was 
deemed proper that she should be separated from the 
princesses of France and have an establishment of her 



26 Mary Stuart. 

own, and Cardinal Lorraine wrote to his sister in Scot- 
land, urging this point. He offers in his letter all the 
necessary advice, and concludes by " hoping that there 
will be no meanness in the matter, because that is a qual- 
ity which your daughter most dislikes ; and believe me, 
madam, her spirit is already so high and noble that she 
would make great demonstrations of displeasure at seeing 
herself degradingly treated." 

The little queen's household was established, and her 
generous spirit frequently prompted her to apply to her 
mother in behalf of her nurse Janet, her foster-brothers, 
and others of her personal attendants. The following is 
a specimen of one of her juvenile letters, written just 
before the arrangements for her separate establishment 
were completed : — 

" Madame, — I am informed that the Queen of France 
and my uncle. Monsieur le Cardinal, have told you all the 
news, which renders it unnecessary for me to write you a 
longer letter than merely to entreat you very humbly to 
keep me always in your good graces. Madame, if it 
should please you to increase my household by letting me 
have an usher of the chamber, I pray you that it may be 
Rufflets, my usher of the saloon, for he is a very good and 
ancient servant. I send you the letters that my lady 
grandmother has written to you. Praying our Lord, 
madame, to give you, in continued health, a very happy 
life, your very humble and obedient daughter, 

" Marie." 

[A.D. 1554.] She writes again at the beginning of the 
new year, after she is settled in her regal household, and 
says : " I have this day entered into the estate you have 
been pleased to appoint for me, and in the evening my 
uncle. Monsieur le Cardinal, comes to sup with me. I 




CLAUDE DE LORRAINE. 



1 



1554- Mary Stuart. 29 

hope, through your good ordering, everything will be well 
conducted." 

Mary was eleven years of age at this time, and did the 
honors of her establishment with a dignity and grace that 
surprised everybody. When Henry II. returned from a 
tour of his southern provinces, a classical ballet, composed 
in honor of the occasion by Queen Catherine de Medicis, 
was performed by the young ladies of the court. There 
were six sybils in the ballet. The first was Elizabeth, 
eldest daughter to the king and queen ; the second, 
Clarissa Strozzi ; the third was Mary Stuart ; the fourth 
Mary Fleming, who, as the sybil Erytia, addressed some 
beautiful lines to Margue'rite de Valois, sister of the king ; 
the fifth sybil was the Princess Claude of France ; and the 
sixth was Mary Livingstone. 

Although not legally qualified to choose her represen- 
tatives in the government of her country until she was 
twelve years of age, an exception was made in the case of 
the little Queen of Scots, who not only released the lord 
governor from his defalcations in the treasury, but through 
her proxy. Monsieur d'Oysell, constituted her mother 
Queen Regent of Scotland and of the Isles. 

In one of her letters to her royal mother, Mary writes 
of a visit she had received from the Bishop of Galloway, 
and adds : " He has promised to be very obedient to you, 
madame, and to render you all the service in his power." A 
few days later she sent the following pretty little epistle : — 

"Madame, — Although the Bishop of Galloway, the pres- 
ent bearer, is now going to you, and can render you a good 
account of the state of health in which he leaves me, I 
cannot omit writing you this note to tell you, madame, 
that, God be thanked, I continue as well as I was when I 
last sent to you ; and that I continue to employ myself in 



30 Mary Stuart. 

all things that I know to be agreeable to the king, my lord 
and father-in-law, and to you. Assuring you truly, madame, 
that, since business will not allow me to see you now, the 
greatest pleasure I can take is to hear from you often, and 
to learn by your letters that you are in prosperity and 
health ; and I hope frequently to be able to communicate 
such tidings of myself as may be to your contentment. 
Recommending myself very humbly to your good grace, 
and praying God, madame, to give you, in health, a happy 
life and long, your very humble and very obedient 
daughter, " Marie." 

[A.D. 1555.] When the young queen had completed her 
thirteenth year, regal etiquette required her to adopt a 
more womanly style of costume than she had hitherto 
worn. Her juvenile wardrobe, which was exceedingly rich 
and valuable, being then unsuitable, her mother wrote per- 
mission for her to distribute it in presents as she chose. 
In those days it was the custom for queens to devote some 
of their superfluous finery to the decoration of churches 
and convents ; Mary, therefore, sent one of her costliest 
robes to her aunt Renee of Lorraine, abbess of St. Pierre 
des Dames, at Rheims, and two others to her aunt Antoi- 
nette of Lorraine, abbess of Farmoustier, to make curtains 
for the chancels of their chapels. Three dresses of less 
value she gave to her personal attendants, and was pro- 
ceeding with the distribution of the rest, when Madame 
Parois angrily interfered with this taunt : " I see you are 
afraid of my enriching myself in your service ; it is plain 
you intend to keep vie poor. But never mind, the con- 
sciences of those who have received the things that ought 
to be mine will be heavily burdened in consequence." 

" What a pity it was that she should speak so," is the 
mild comment of the young queen, in her statement of the 



^555- Mary Stuart. 31 

affair to her absent mother. " I know very well that she 
wrote a letter to you, telling you that when we were at 
Villers-Coterets, and she made a journey to Paris about 
her lawsuit, that I prevented her on her return from hav- 
ing any further authority over my wardrobe, and would 
not permit her to take charge any more of that depart- 
ment. Madame, I very humbly beseech you to believe 
that there is nothing in all this ; for, in the first place, I 
never prevented her from having power over my wardrobe, 
because I well knew I ought not to do it ; but I merely told 
John, my valet-de-chambre, that when she wished to take 
anything away, he should apprise me, for, otherwise, if I 
wanted to give it away, I might find it gone. As to what 
she has written to you, of my always having had power to 
do as I pleased with my things, I can assure you I have 
never been allowed by her credit to give away so much as 
a pin, and thus I have acquired the reputation of being 
niggardly, insomuch that several persons have actually 
told me that I did not resemble you in that. I am sur- 
prised how she could dare to write to you anything so 
opposed to the truth. I will send you an inventory of all 
the clothes I have had since I came to France, that you 
may see the control she has exercised ; and I beseech you 
very humbly, madame, to give credit to all the explana- 
tions on the list." In the same letter Mary begs that the 
office of master of her wardrobe may be conferred on 
John Kemp, pleading that it had been promised to him by 
her uncle, Cardinal Lorraine. Then she speaks of the 
affection of her aunt and uncle, the Duke and Duchess of 
Guise, saying : " They take as much care of me and my 
concerns as if I were their own child. As for my uncle. 
Monsieur le Cardinal, I need not speak of him, since 
what he does is so well known to you ; but all my other 
uncles would do as much if they had the means. I pray 



32 Mary Stuart. 

you to write and thank them for their kindness to me, and 
beg them to continue the same, for their care of me is 
incredible. I can say no less of Madame de Valentinois." 

On New Year's Day, Mary was in Paris, where she 
astonished the court and tiie foreign ambassadors by the 
ease and grace with which she recited in the presence of 
them all, in the great gallery of the Louvre, an oration in 
Latin, after the style of Cicero, of her own composition. 
She set forth the capacity of women for the highest educa- 
tion, and nobody who saw and heard the fair young queen 
that day felt disposed to contradict her. 

It was one of Mary's duties to write a daily letter in 
French, with a Latin version of the same, to her companion 
and friend Madame Elizabeth, whom she addressed as 
" beloved sister," giving some account of the book that 
had occupied her in the morning. Sometimes she quoted 
a sentiment from Cato, Cicero, or Socrates, which she dis- 
cussed, or she related an historical incident that had struck 
her, not unfrequently adding a wise deduction or moral 
for the benefit of her young correspondent. 

On Palm Sunday, Queen Mary, in company with all the 
princesses and ladies of the court, carried a palm branch 
to and from church ; and on Candlemas Day, a taper. It 
was on the latter occasion that an ignorant woman, whose 
enthusiasm was aroused by the imposing character of the 
pageant, was so dazzled by the beauty and heavenly ex- 
pression of the young queen's countenance and the splen- 
dor of her costume, that, flinging herself at the feet of the 
royal child, she exclaimed, "Are you not indeed an angel ? " 

[A.D. 1556.] At that time Mary was the pet and idol of 
the glittering French court, and was fondly called by the 
queen and the royal children notre petite Reinette d'Escosse. 
But she was not happy, for Madame Parois rendered her 
life so miserable that her spirits became depressed and her 



1556- Mary Stuart. 33 

health began to fail. After an absence of a few weeks, 
her uncle, the cardinal, was surprised on his return to court 
to see the change that had taken place in his precious 
charge. Upon questioning her, he discovered the cause of 
the trouble, and carried her off for change of scene to his 
own house at Villers-Coterets, whence he addressed an 
earnest letter to Mary of Lorraine, explaining the necessity 
of providing a different governess for her daughter. The 
letter was penned by his secretary, but he adds the follow- 
ing postscript. "It is absolutely necessary for you to 
come over to France. As to Madame Parois, she herself 
wishes to retire ; and even if her state of health does not 
compel her to do so, we may hope that when you come, 
vou will not allow her to remain. She is a good woman ; 
but you and all your race will have cause for lasting re- 
gret, if her remaining costs you the life of the queen, your 
daughter, who has, with extreme patience, endured much 
that she and I have thought could not but be known. But 
time at last unveils many things which it is no longer possi- 
ble to bear. The king and queen desire much to place a 
lady of high rank about her, and I have been told that the 
king is this winter deliberating about her marriage, — a 
thing which I think might be accomplished if you came over ; 
but unless you come, I cannot believe that it ever will." 

The cardinal was particularly anxious that his sister 
should hasten to France to use her influence in completing 
the marriage, because there was a powerful party, headed 
by Constable Montmorenci, that opposed it for very good 
reasons. Cardinal Lorraine regarded no other interests 
than those of his own family and the church of which he 
considered himself the leading power, and he knew that 
his influence over the young queen was so great that when 
once she was on the throne of France he would be virtu- 
ally the ruler of the empire. 



34 Mary Stuart. 

But the Regent of Scotland could not be spared from 
her realm, anxious though she was to visit her daughter, 
nor did she signify her consent to the removal of Madame 
Parois. Mary chafed under the vulgar woman's inso- 
lence, and wrote another urgent appeal to her mother to 
substitute Madame de Breme as her governess, saying that 
she had been encouraged by her grandmother and her 
uncle, the cardinal, to speak her mind plainly on this sub- 
ject. Madame de Breme must have been a remarkable 
woman, for not only the cardinal and the princes of the 
House of Lorraine, but the King and Queen of France, 
all united in recommending her as the most suitable person 
in the world to be Mary Stuart's governess, and the young 
queen herself protests that she could at all times be happy 
with that lady. Mary's liberality to her dependants was 
sorely cramped by the rigid economy the queen-mother's 
pecuniary difficulties compelled her to observe, and she 
frequently wrote to have their salaries increased. It is no 
wonder the members of her household were attached to 
her, for she always spoke most kindly of them, and did all 
in her power to advance their interests. 

[A.D. 1557.] After the marriage of Philip II. of Spain 
and Mary of England, political affairs were in such a 
state that it was deemed advisable to hasten the alliance 
between the dauphin and Mary Stuart ; and Scotch com- 
missioners were appointed by Parliament to go to France 
for the purpose of drawing up a treaty to effect this. 
They acted with due regard to the honor of their nation, 
and, in so far as words, oaths, and signatures were con- 
cerned, obtained all for their sovereign that could be 
desired. It was agreed that the arms of Scotland and 
France should be borne by Francis and Mary on separate 
shields, surmounted by the Scotch crown ; that their eldest 
son should succeed to both realms ; that their daughters 



%. 




HENRY II. 



1557- Maiy Stuart. 37 

should be richly endowed, the oldest to receive four hun- 
dred thousand crowns, and all the others three hundred 
thousand. Mary was to receive, for her sole and separate 
use, a pension of thirty thousand crowns while dauphiness, 
and seventy thousand crowns per annum on her royal hus- 
band's accession to the throne of France. Certain lands 
were to be assigned to her in case of widowhood ; and in 
case of her consort's decease, whether as dauphin or king, 
she was to have her choice either to reside in France or 
elsewhere ; and if it pleased her to marry again, she was 
to retain full power to draw her annual rents for her own 
sole use. 

Henry II. granted all the demands of the Scotch com- 
missioners ; but, taking advantage of Mary's youth and 
inexperience, he made her sign some documents, of the 
importance of which she was ignorant. One of these 
o-ave him and his heirs the right of succession to the 
throne of Scotland, as well as Mary's claim to that of 
England, in the event of her death. Another secured to 
him from the revenues of her realm a million crowns of 
gold, which the monarch claimed for the expenses of her 
residence in France. And the third was a protest against 
anything she might do at a future date to invalidate these 
documents. The young queen was excusable for signing 
these papers, because she acted by the advice of her 
uncles, the Cardinal de Lorraine and the Due de Guise, 
who were part and parcel in the cruel imposition, and be- 
cause she had always been taught to regard the king as 
the friend and protector of her childhood, the support of 
her widowed mother, and the defender of her realm. 

These papers were signed at Fontainebleau, and after- 
wards Mary was conducted to Paris for the celebration of 
her nuptials. Preparations for this event had been going 
on for several weeks, and all the milliners, goldsmiths, 



38 Mary Stuart. 

jewellers, tailors, and embroiderers in the city had been 
kept as busy as possible. 

[A.D. 1558.] In obedience to the king's summons, all 
the nobility of France assembled to assist at the betrothal 
ceremony, which took place on the 19th of April. On 
that day Mary Stuart and the dauphin, Francis de Valois, 
attended by their respective trains, met in the grand hall 
of the Louvre, where, in the presence of the Kings and 
Queens of France and Navarre, the princes and princesses 
of the blood royal, the nobles of France and the Scotch 
commissioners, the marriage was read, ratified, and signed. 

The royal jDair were then solemnly betrothed by 
Cardinal de Lorraine, the dauphin declaring that of his 
own free will, and with the full consent of the king and 
queen, his father and mother, and being duly authorized 
by them to take the Queen of Scotland for his wife and 
consort, he promised to espouse her on the following Sun- 
day, April 24, in the face of the holy church. Mary, on 
her part, announced that of her own free will and consent, 
and by the advice of her lady grandmother, the Duchess- 
dowager of Guise, and of the deputies of Scotland, she 
took the Dauphin Francis for her lord and husband, and 
promised to espouse him on the above-named day, in the 
face of holy church. Then the music struck up, and 
a ball was opened by the King of France, with Mary 
Stuart for his partner, and all the distinguished guests 
danced. This fete was confined to the privileged assis- 
tants in the matrimonial treaty ; the grand display of royal 
splendor in which all classes of people of France were to 
have their share was reserved for the public celebration of 
the nuptials, on the ensuing Sunday. And everything was 
to be on a grand scale ; for the bride had always been the 
darling of the nation, and her union with their dauphin 
was most agreeable to their national pride. 



CHAPTER II. 

[A.D. 1558.] The night before the wedding, Mary 
Stuart and the royal family of France slept in the palace of 
the Archbishop of Paris. With the dawn of day, a flourish 
of trumpets and the lively notes of fifes and drums echoing 
through the old monastic courts and cloisters aroused the 
bride and her four bonny Scotch Marys from their slum- 
ber. The excited populace of the city turned out betimes 
and thronged the vicinity of Notre Dame in eager antici- 
pation of the show, every street and bridge being crowded 
with a mass of humanity. 

In order to gratify everybody, however humble, the 
king had caused a scaffolding twelve feet high to be 
erected from the hall of the archbishop's palace to the 
great gates in front of the cathedral along which the 
bridal party and all the illustrious company were to pass 
to the open pavilion outside of Notre Dame where the 
marriage was to be solemnized within sight of the multi- 
tude. This gallery was a masterpiece of art. It was 
arched over the top with a trellis-work of carved vine- 
leaves and branches, to represent a cathedral cloister, and 
the pavilion at which it terminated was called a del royal, 
and was formed of blue Cyprus silk, on which were em^ 
broidered golden fieurs-de-lys instead of stars and the 
arms of the Queen of Scotland. A velvet carpet of the 
same color and pattern covered the floor. Francis de 
Lorraine, the cardinal, had the honor of performing the 
ceremony. 

The clergy and all the noble gentlemen and ladies 
assembled within the church by ten o'clock. Mary's eld- 

39 



40 Mary Stuart. 

est uncle, Francis, Duke of Guise, grand master of cere- 
monies, arrived soon after, preceded by the Swiss Guard. 
On ascending the raised stage and entering the open 
pavilion, he saluted the archbishop and all the clergy who 
were awaiting the royal bridal party. Perceiving that 
some of the lords stood so as to intercept the view of the 
people congregated below, he made a sign for them to 
fall back, and explained that the stage had been erected 
so that all persons might have a good view. Then he 
returned to the archbishop's palace to head the proces- 
sion, which \vas then forming. 

Queen Mary's Scotch musicians and minstrels, clad in 
red and yellow livery, led the van, playing on various in- 
struments and chanting hymns. They were followed by 
a hundred gentlemen of the household of the king of 
France ; next walked the princes of the blood gorgeously 
attired and decorated. Eighteen bishops and mitred 
abbots, bearing richly ornamented crosses, followed, then 
the Archbishops and Cardinals of Bourbon, Lorraine, and 
Guise, and the Cardinal Legate of France. Next came 
the dauphin with the King of Navarre and attended by his 
two little brothers the Dukes of Orleans and Angouleme, 
who were afterwards known in history as Charles IX. and 
Henry III. of France. No description is given of the boy 
bridegroom's costume on this occasion ; he looked ex- 
tremely delicate, and attracted very little attention. The 
interest of the day was centred in the bride, whom George 
Buchanan, the poet, thus describes : — 

" If matchless beauty your nice fancy move, 
Behold an object worthy of your love; 
How loftily her stately front doth rise, 
What gentle lightning flashes from her eyes, 
"What awful majesty her carriage bears, 
Maturely grave, even in her tender years." 




FRANCIS ir. AND MARV. 



155^- Mary Stuart. 43 

Mary's procession came next. All eyes were strained 
to behold the young, lovely maiden, who walked between 
the King of France and her uncle, the Cardinal de Lor- 
raine, and she was greeted with rapturous applause and 
blessings. The official chronicler of the Hotel de Ville 
says : " She was dressed in a robe whiter than the lily, 
but so glorious in its fashion and decorations that it would 
be difficult for any pen to do justice to its details. Her 
.regal mantle and train were of a bluish gray cut velvet, 
richly embroidered with white silk and pearls. It was full 
twelve yards long, and supported by the four Marys. She 
wore a crown composed of the finest gold, of exquisite 
workmanship, set with diamonds, pearls, rubies, and emer- 
alds, of great value, and in the centre was a carbuncle 
valued at five hundred thousand crowns. About her neck 
hung a superb jewel I suspended by chains of precious 
stones. This stone was of immense value, and was pre- 
sented by Henry VH. to Queen Margaret Tudor. It was 
known by the familiar name of the " Great Harry," and 
now belonged to Mary Stuart, 

After the royal bride, came the Queen of France, led 
by the Prince de Conde, followed by the Queen of Na- 
varre /[adame Marguerite, only sister to the king, and 
the other princesses and noble ladies. The bridal party 
was received at the gates of Notre Dame, by the Arch- 
bishop of Paris, in grand pontificals, attended by his 
ecclesiastical suite and the acolytes bearing two silver 
chandeliers, full of lighted wax tapers, decorated with gold. 
The King of France drew from his little finger a ring, 
which he handed to the cardinal, who at once proceeded 
to perform the marriage ceremony. 

As soon as the benediction was pronounced, Mary 
saluted her husband by the title of Francis I., King of 
Scotland. Then the Scotch commissioners advanced and 



44 



Mary Stuart. 



performed their homage to him as their sovereign. In 
conclusion, great handfuls of gold and silver were thrown 
by the heralds, among the people, as they proclaimed the 
marriage and cried : — 

*' Largesse, largesse, largesse ! " 




PRINCE DE CONDf. 



Such a rushing and screaming followed that nothing 
was ever heard to equal it, as the people precipitated 
themselves on one another, scrambling for the money. 
There were cries for help from the fallen, and scolding 
and wrangling among those who in the desperate struggle 



^SS^- Mary Stuart. 45 

had their garments dragged off and torn. Some were 
seriously hurt, while many were carried out of the crowd 
in a faint, and the confusion was so great that the heralds 
were begged to throw no more coin, for fear of a riot. 

The ball was over between four and five o'clock in the 
afternoon, and then the illustrious company proceeded to 
the palace by the Rue St. Christopher. The princes and 
noble gentlemen were mounted on large stately steeds 
caparisoned with cloth of gold and silver. The princesses 
were in open litters and coaches covered with the same 
superb stuff, and the Queen of France rode in her litter 
with the bride. On either side of this litter rode the Car- 
dinals of Lorraine and Bourbon. The royal bridegroom 
followed with the Due de Lorraine, several of the prin- 
ces and princesses, all well mounted ; then came a com- 

• pany of ladies on ponies trapped in crimson velvet, with 
elaborate cloth-of-gold decorations. 

When the bridal party reached the palace, they found 
it so beautifully arranged and fitted up that all exclaimed 
with delight. Another banquet was served, and at the 
marble table of the bride sat the king, the princes of the 
blood royal, and the bride and groom, while the musicians 
played on their various instruments. The Due de Guise, 
dressed in a robe of frosted cloth-of-gold, studded with 
precious stones, performed the duties of Grand Master of 
the Household that day. He was assisted by twelve other 

• gentlemen, who brought up the first course bareheaded 
and keeping step to the music. These did not carry the 
dish of meat, but they preceded the pages whose duty it 
was to do so. In this fashion each of the twelve courses 
was served. Towards the close of the banquet, the her- 
alds came up to the royal table, according to their custom, 
and made their obeisances to the king and the dauphin, 
from whom they received a large jug of solid gold and 



46 Mary Stuart. 

silver, selected from a number of such costly vessels 
which stood on the buffet. Many of these were the 
most magnificent that had ever been seen, as they were 
the work of Benvenuto Cellini, the great designer and 
sculptor. 

The following day the fetes were renewed at the Louvre, 
where for nearly a week there were balls, plays, masques, 
and tournaments. If the people of Edinburgh could have 
witnessed the splendid ceremonies, they would not have 
grumbled at the demand which was made on their purses 
to pay for them. But the pleasure was entirely for the 
citizens of Paris, and the heavy tax was regarded in the 
Scottish metropolis as an intolerable grievance. 

As soon as quiet was restored, the newly wedded couple 
withdrew to Villers-Coterets, to pass some time in rural 
enjoyments. Mary was now entitled Queen Dauphiness, 
and her consort King of Scotland. The portrait which 
the bride bestowed on one of the commissioners, as a 
parting token of her favor, represents her with hair of a 
rich chestnut-brown, almost black. Her complexion is 
that of a delicate brunette, clear and brilliant. Her hair 
is parted and drawn back across the forehead, forming a 
large curl on each temple, just above the small, delicately 
moulded ear. She wears a little round crimson velvet cap, 
embroidered with gold and ornamented with gems, placed 
almost at the back of the head, and resembling a Greek 
cap, excepting that there is a crown-shaped front of pearls. , 
The dress is of rich crimson damask, embroidered with 
gold and precious stones. It fits tightly over the bust, 
and shows a long, tapering waist, while the sleeves have 
balloon-like caps that rise above the natural curve of the 
shoulders. The dress is finished at the throat with a band 
which holds up a finely quilled ruff, and below this is a 
string of large round pearls, from which hangs an ame- 



^55^- Mary SUiart. 49 

thyst cross. The portrait is in an oval frame, and still 
exists in England. 

The youthful couple, though emancipated from the con- 
trol of governors, governesses, and preceptors, conducted 
themselves with the utmost propriety ; and Mary contin- 
ued to read Latin with Buchanan, history with De Pas- 
quier, and poetry with Ronsard, for she was wise enough 
to know that her education was by no means complete. 
Music, needlework, and the chase formed her favorite 
recreations ; and she presided with her spouse over their 
own little court, each being so happy in the society of the 
other as to feel no desire to mingle in the public gayeties 
of the Louvre, excepting when etiquette required them to 
do so. She managed her expenses without either extrava- 
gance or parsimony, her greatest delight being to give. 

After three brief months of wedded happiness, the 
young consort was compelled to tear himself from his 
loving wife to serve in the fttnijiajnder Francis, Duke of 
Guise. He was thus employed for several months, but had 
no opportunity to djstirrguish himself in any enterprise. 

The death of Queen Mary of England placed Mary 
Stuart next in accession to the crown ; and Henry II. 
was so ambitious for his daughter-in-law that, during 
the negotiations for the peace of Cambray, when Queen 
Elizabeth demanded the restitution of Calais as a por- 
tion of her dominions, the French commissioners made 
this rejoinder, " In that case, it ought to be surrendered 
to the dauphin's consort, the Queen of Scots, whom we 
take to be the Queen of England." Elizabeth did not 
avenge the insult at that time, because all her energies 
were bent towards obtaining the recognition of her title, 
and in this she succeeded. 

After the peace was concluded, Francis and Mary wrote 
a courteous letter to Elizabeth, expressing their gratifica- 



50 Mary Stuart. 

tion, and asking permission for Lord Lethington to pass 
through England to carry the good tidings to the Queen 
Regent of Scotland. She consented, calling him the 
envoy of the King and Queen of Scotland ; whereupon, 
these wrote from Paris to thank her for her professions of 
friendship and good will, signing themselves, " your good 
brother, sister, and cousins, Francis and Marie." 

While these diplomatic civilities were being carried on, 
Elizabeth was fomenting a revolt in Scotland, and the 
dauphin and his consort, acting by the advice of Henry IL, 
were decorating their plate and tapestry with the arms of 
England, to intimate that Mary was rightful sovereign of 
that realm. The affairs of her own kingdom were in such 
an alarming condition at this period that Mary Stuart be- 
came very ill in consequence of the uneasiness she felt. 
It was whispered that she could not live ; but this proved 
to be an exaggeration. The dauphin was in bad health, 
also, for he was suffering from an attack of ague which 
baffled the skill of all the physicians. Mary was very 
attentive to him ; and everybody noticed her amiability 
towards this prince, who was in every way inferior to her- 
self. If she was aware of this, she had the good sense to 
conceal it, and treated him on all occasions with the 
utmost deference, requesting his presence at her councils 
on the affairs of Scotland, and listening with marked 
attention to his opinions. Although far from well, Mary 
Stuart was required to be present at the grand festival 
which took place at the Palace of the Tournelles, in honor 
of the double marriage of her sister-in-law, Madame Eliza- 
beth of France, with Philip II. of Spain, and Madame 
Margue'rite, the king's sister, with Philibert of Savoy. 

[A.D. 1559.] These matrimonial arrangements had been 
agreed to at the treaty of Cambray, and had converted 
the Spanish monarch into an ally by whose aid the mighty, 



1559- Mary Sttiart. 53 

ambitious Henry II. of France hoped to hurl Elizabeth 
Tudor from the throne and establish his daughter-in-law 
as sovereign of Great Britain. 

Part of the entertainment on the occasion of these 
marriages was a grand tournament in front of the palace. 
Mary was borne to her place in the royal balcony in a sort 
of triumphal car on which were painted the arms of Eng- 
land and Scotland. The car was preceded by two heralds 
who cried in a high voice, "Place/ place / pour la Reine 
d^ Angleterrer Little did the adoring crowd who re- 
sponded with shouts of " Vive la Reine d^Angleterre" imag- 
ine that they were sounding the knell of their darling, for 
it was the assumption of this title that cost Mary Stuart 
her life. 

The king entered the lists on this occasion, anxious to 
convince his subjects that he was still able to compete 
with youthful knights in chivalric exercises, but he was 
mortally wounded in the eye by the Count de Montgomery, 
and the festivities came to a close. The splinter of a 
lance broken in a friendly encounter in Paris secured the 
establishment of the reformed faith in England, by causing 
the death of the only sovereign in Europe who was in 
position to oppose it. 

Four days later Henry II. expired, surrounded by his 
sorrowing family, and the dauphin became King Fran- 
cis II. Mary Stuart was now Queen of France, and re- 
ceived all the tokens of respect due to her exalted posi- 
tion. Catherine de Medicis was appointed Regent of 
France, and was treated by the young couple with the most 
affectionate and sympathizing tenderness in her deep 
grief. But she soon found that her title was but a name, 
for all the power and patronage of the government were 
absorbed by the queen-consort, or, rather, had passed 
through her into the hands of Cardinal Lorraine, the 



54 Mary Sinart. 

Due de Guise and other members of that numerous 
family. The queen regent desired to govern tlie young 
king, her son, to appoint his ministers, to direct his public 
actions, and to control his finances ; but in every project 
she found herself circumvented. She naturally became 
excessively jealous of her daughter-in-law, and would 
have proceeded to hostilities if that had been possible, 
but Mary's life was so pure, and her influence in the Medi- 
cis household was so excellent, that there was nothing to 
attack. 

Mary's health continued to be so poor that her anxious 
consort removed her to his country palace of Villers- 
Coterets for change of air and scene, and in a few weeks 
she improved. While in her retreat, she wrote letters of 
thanks to those nobles of Scotland who had been faithful 
to their government during the insurrection, and expressed 
her approbation of the conduct of her cousin the Due 
de Chatelherault. She also sent affectionate letters to her 
mother, assuring her that she would not let the king forget 
the aid he promised to send to Scotland. 

The royal pair left Villers-Coterets. on the nth of Sep- 
tember, and proceeded to an abbey three leagues from 
Rheims, there to rest and be ready for their state entrance 
into the town, on the occasion of the king's coronation. 
On the 15th they set out in the same carriage, but when 
within a quarter of a league of the city, Francis mounted 
a beautiful white charger and made his solemn entry in 
the midst of a terrific storm of wind and rain. The 
weather was a disappointment, for elaborate preparations 
had been made by the loyal citizens to greet their young 
monarch and his consort. Above the gate of Rheims a 
platform had been erected between pillars wreathed with 
lilies. On this platform was the figure of the sun as a 
globe of fire in which was enclosed a glowing red heart. 



1559- Mary Stuart. 57 

As the king drew rein in front of the gate, the sun opened, 
the heart moved forward, and suddenly expanded, showing 
a lovely little girl, about nine years of age, with golden 
curls clustering to her waist. She held the keys of the 
city in her hand, and addressed some verses of welcome 
to the sovereign as if she were the presiding genius of 
Rheims. She then retreated into the sun, which opened 
again like a flower when Queen Mary arrived. The little 
girl recited other verses of welcome, and presented the 
young consort with some beautiful gifts. Their majesties 
were received by twenty bishops and as many cures, at 
the head of whom was Cardinal Lorraine, the Archbishop 
of Rheims. The queen's procession was headed by the 
city authorities, and a canopy of state was borne over her 
head. 

The coronation took place on the i8th. Cardinal Lor- 
raine celebrating the mass and placing the crown on the 
king's head. It was a gloomy ceremony in appearance, 
because Francis had issued an order that, out of respect 
to his father's memory, no lady, saving his consort, should 
presume to appear in any other than a black silk or velvet 
dress, and that all jewels and embroidery should be dis- 
pensed with. Of course Mary Stuart was not included in 
the coronation rite, because, as she was reigning Queen of 
Scotland, it would have been beneath her dignity to vow 
that she would undertake nothing without the sanction of 
the king, and this was the form of the oath prescribed for 
a queen-consort of France. She therefore merely graced 
with her presence the consecration of her royal husband, 
and looked down upon the ceremony from a gallery above 
the right side of the altar, where she sat with Elizabeth, 
Queen of Spain, and the ladies of their courts. A banquet 
followed, as usual ; and after it was over, the King and 
Queen of France set out for Lorraine, and thence to Blois, 



58 Mary Stuart. 

where both were happy to escape from the cares and tur- 
moils of state affairs. 

Unfortunately, Francis, acting by his consort's advice, 
allowed himself to be completely guided by the Cardinal 
de Lorraine and the Due de Guise, who thus gained en- 
tire possession of the government, and it is remarkable 
that, amidst all the horror and hatred excited by the un- 
scrupulous proceedings of her uncles, Mary never lost her 
popularity, but continued to be adored by the whole 
French nation. 

A few days after the young queen had completed 
her seventeenth year, she met with an accident, while 
hunting, that nearly cost her life. The English ambas- 
sador wrote the following account of it to his court : — 
" On the 19th of December the young French Queen, 
while hunting, was following the hart at full career when 
she was thrown from her horse by the bough of a tree, and 
with the suddenness of the fall was unable to call for 
help. Divers gentlemen and ladies of her chamber fol- 
lowed her ; three or four of them passed over her before 
she was observed, and some of the horses' hoofs were so 
near her that her hood was trodden on by them. As soon 
as she was raised from the ground, she spoke and said she 
felt no hurt, and began to arrange her hair and dress her 
head, and so returned to the court, and kept her chamber 
for several hours. She feels no ill consequences from the 
fall, yet she is determined to change that kind of exercise." 

Francis and Mary were still at Blois with their court, 
enjoying the pleasures of country life, when the painful 
news reached them of the conspiracy of Amboise. This 
was the beginning of that struggle for political and relig- 
ious liberty which had been brought about by the despotic 
rule of the house of Guise, and was destined for nearly 
thirty years to deluge France with blood. The Bourbon 




FRANCIS DE LORRAINE. 



1559- Mary Stuart. 6i 

princes were jealous of the power of the house of Guise, 
and Catherine de Medicis, who had never cared in the 
least for her son, was envious of the preference he showed 
for his consort. Besides, she was very angry because he 
had deprived her of the political authority which he had 
vested in the Guisian princes. Perceiving the growing 
popularity of the Huguenot party, she allied herself se- 
cretly with them and was admitted to their confidence. 
Their plot, to which she perfectly agreed, was to surprise 
and separate the young king and queen, confine them in 
separate fortresses, send the princes of the house of Guise 
to the scaffold and place the government in the hands of 
a council composed of the King of Navarre, the Prince 
of Conde, Admiral de Coligni, and the Montmorencies. 
Catherine de Medicis had hoped to be placed at the head 
of this junta, but she was only used as a tool by the people 
whom she hoped to render subservient to her ambition 
and revenge. The Bourbons were assisted by Queen 
Elizabeth with money, and encouraged with promises of 
English troops. All seemed to be working to the entire 
satisfaction of the conspirators, when, through the treach- 
ery of Avenelles, a Huguenot lawyer, the Due de Guise 
was informed of the formidable scheme, and took meas- 
ures to avert the ruin that threatened himself and his 
family. His first step was to remove the king and queen 
from Blois. Francis was excessively annoyed when he 
was informed of the plot, and thought it was due to the 
faulty administration of his informer. " What have I 
done," he asked, passionately, " to displease my people ? 
I listen to their petitions, and desire to perform my duty 
to them. I have heard," he continued, pointedly, " that it 
is you, gentlemen, who cause disaffection ; I wish you 
would leave me to myself, and we should soon see whether 
the blow is aimed at me or you." 



62 Mary Stuart. 

" Ah, sire ! " replied Cardinal de Lorraine, bending his 
knee before the young sovereign, " if our retreat would 
satisfy your enemies, we should not hesitate to withdraw ; 
but it is religion — it is the throne — it is France itself — 
they wish to subvert. All these are menaced by the 
Huguenots, whose aim it is to destroy the royal family, 
and to transform France into a republic. Such is the 
object of this conspiracy. Will you abandon your faithful 
servants? Will you abandon yourself.'"' 

Thus urged, and convinced by undeniable proofs of the 
correspondence between the Huguenot chiefs and Queen 
Elizabeth, Francis no longer hesitated to put himself 
and his consort into the hands of the Guise party, now 
more powerful than ever before. Catherine de Medicis, 
in order to conceal from the world her share in the con- 
spiracy, not only renewed her former intimacy with Car- 
dinal de Lorraine, but betrayed and persecuted those who 
had rashly trusted her. A season of horror followed the 
removal of the king and queen to Amboise, where they 
were compelled to witness the heart-rending scenes of 
slaughter and terror which took place in front of the 
palace. 

It was at this period that Mary saved the life of her 
Latin master, George Buchanan, who had been doomed to 
the stake for having violated his priestly vows. But the 
sickening scenes that were daily enacted at Amboise had 
such a bad effect on the king and queen that they re- 
moved to St. Germain-en-Laye ; and shortly after Mary 
received news of the death of her mother, at Edinburgh 
Castle. She was plunged in the deepest sorrow by this 
sad event ; but she and her husband were never allowed 
much time either for reflection or enjoyment, for the 
tyrannical statesmen who held the reins of state were con- 
stantly sending them from one place to another. Now 



1559- Mary Stuart. 65 

their presence was required at Orleans, where the Prince 
de Conde and other illustrious persons were to be put 
to death, in order to strike terror to the hearts of the 
supporters of the Reformation. 

They did not know why they had been summoned to 
Orleans, because the Prince de Conde' had not then been 
arrested ; but the order had come, and they did not 
dream of neglecting it. On the loth of October they bade 
farewell to St. Germain, and were joined at Paris by the 
queen-mother. They set out with a guard of twelve hun- 
dred horsemen, their force gradually increasing, as they 
were met by loyal nobles, with their companies of sol- 
diers, and made their solemn entry into Orleans on the 
17th of October. They stood on a scaffold, and reviewed 
four thousand troops of foot soldiers ; and these were fol- 
lowed by the civic authorities, all the children of the 
principal inhabitants, and the archers of the city. Then 
their majesties proceeded to the Palace of Orleans, 
mounted on fine white horses, and followed by a great 
number of ladies and gentlemen. 

Conde' was to have been assassinated during his first 
interview with the king ; but upon being informed of the 
plan, Francis 11. forbade the homicide, in such terms that 
even the bold princes of the House of Guise dared not 
persist. In their disappointment, one of them exclaimed, 
within his hearing, " By the double cross of Lorraine, but 
we have a poor creature for our king." However, Conde 
was arrested on the 30th of October, as he was leaving 
the cabinet of Catherine de Medicis, who, with her usual 
treachery, had led him to believe that she was his friend. 

At this time Francis H. was so ill that the physicians 
declared his recovery doubtful, and that such was the 
feebleness of his constitution that, in any circumstances, 
he could not survive two years. Queen Mary was unre- 



66 Mary Stuart. 

mittinsf in her care, and did not leave her sufiferino: 
partner for a moment. His complaint was an abscess in 
the ear, attended by inflammation, which attacked the 
brain, and he grew worse, gradually, but steadily. At 
last it was announced that he was dying ; and the last 
offices of the church were administered by Cardinal Lor- 
raine. A sensation was produced among the noble crowd 
who surrounded the bed of the dying youth when he 
entreated absolution for all the wicked deeds that had 
been done in his name, by his ministers of state, particu- 
larly as the officiating cardinal was his premier. 

Francis appeared to regret nothing but his separation 
from his Mary, the only true mourner in the room. She 
had been the blessing of his life ; and with his last breath 
he testified to her virtues, and her devotion to himself. 
He recommended her to his mother, to whom he said, " I 
bequeath her as a daughter ; and I entreat my brothers 
and sisters always to have a care of her for my sake." 

" On the 5th of December, at eleven o'clock at night," 
wrote Throckmorton to Queen Elizabeth, "Francis 11. 
departed to God, leaving as sad and weary a wife as of 
good right she had reason to be, who, by long watching 
with him during his nineteen days' illness, and by painful 
diligence about him, is by no means in the best of health, 
though she is not in danger." 

[A.D. 1560.] The boy king was only sixteen years ten 
months and fifteen days old at the time of his death. 
Mary Stuart knew that she had now lost her position as 
first lady in the land, and, without waiting to be reminded 
of this by her unsympathetic mother-in-law, she instantly 
vacated the royal apartments she had occupied at the 
Orleans Palace. It was one of the customs of French 
royalty that a queen-dowager, immediately after the death 
of the king, her husband, retired into the most profound 



1560. Mary Stuart. 69 

seclusion, daylight being shut out of her apartments, 
which were hung with black. She was served by lamp- 
light, and approached by nobody but the ladies of her 
household. Her costume was snowy white, from head to 
foot ; and this she wore for forty days. Hence, she was 
called la reine blanche. The delicate beauty of Mary 
Stuart was greatly enhanced by this white robe of widow- 
hood. 

She appeared in her widow's weeds at church when 
her husband's body was removed for burial to St. Denis, 
but she did not accompany the remains. Neither 
did her ambitious uncles, for they had no time to waste 
over a funeral procession. The care of the burial was 
left entirely to the personal servants of the late monarch ; 
and their allowance for this purpose was so meagre that 
there was very little display. Subsequently, a handsome 
marble pillar was erected by Mary, as a tribute of her 
affection, to mark the spot where the heart of Francis II. 
was deposited in Orleans cathedral. She also caused a 
medal to be engraved, with a liquorice plant, the stem of 
which is bitter, bending towards the root, with this motto, 
" Earth hides my sweetness." 

[A.D. 1 56 1.] The most interesting visit Mary Stuart 
received shortly after she became a widow was from her 
youthful cousin Henry, Lord Darnley. Margaret, Count- 
ess of Lennox, supposed that Mary would return to Scot- 
land to assume the government ; she therefore secretly 
despatched her son to seek an interview and to deliver 
letters of condolence from herself and her husband, with 
such expressions of affection and zeal for her service as 
might best ensure her favor in their behalf. Besides, 
although Lord Darnley was three years younger than the 
widowed queen, his mother had already begun to consider 
the advantages that would accrue to him and his family if 



"JO Mary Stuart. 

a union between the two could be brought about ; and this 
was one of her reasons for sending him to France. Mary 
Stuart withdrew to a chateau at a sliort distance from 
Orleans, where she received many marks of attention from 
the members of the royal family. They visited her almost 
every day ; and her brother-in-law, Charles IX., the little 
King of France, was particularly affectionate and kind. 
He used to look at her portrait at times and exclaim, 
" Ah, Francis, happy brother ! though your life and reign 
were so short, you were to be envied in this, that you were 
the possessor of that angel, and the object of her love." 

The Spanish ambassador and his wife were Mary's fre- 
quent visitors also ; but their intimacy excited the jealousy 
of Catherine de Medicis, who seriously objected to an 
alliance between Don Carlos of Spain and her daughter- 
in-law. She kept a strict watch over the movements of 
the widow, therefore, and signified to the Due de Guise 
that it would be wise to remove her from the immediate 
neighborhood of Orleans. Mary really had not the slight- 
est intention to marry Don Carlos, or any other man just 
then, as may be seen by the following letter to the King 
of Spain, in reply to his expressions of condolence on the 
death of Francis II. : — ' 

"To the King of Spain, Monsieur my good brother. 
Sir, — I would not willingly lose this opportunity of writing 
to thank you for the courteous letters you have sent me by 
Signor Don Antonio, as well as for the honorable words 
in which both he and your ambassador have expressed to 
me your regret for the death of the late king, my lord, 
assuring you, my good brother, that you have lost the 
best brother you ever had, and consoled by your letters 
the most afflicted poor woman under heaven, God having 
deprived me of all I loved and held most dear on earth, 



iS6i- Mary Stuart. 71 

and left me no other comfort than that of seeing others 
deplore his loss and my too great misfortune. God will 
assist me, if it please him, to bear what comes from him 
with patience ; for without his aid I confess I should find 
so great a calamity too heavy for my strength and little 
virtue. But. knowing that it is unreasonable for me to 
weary you with my letters, which can only be filled with 
this grievous subject, I will conclude this by entreating 
you to be a good brother to me in my affliction, and to 
continue me in your favor, to which I affectionately com- 
mend myself, praying God to give you, monsieur my good 
brother, as much happiness as you can desire. 

"Your very good sister and cousin, Marie." 

It was Mary's own desire to pass part of the winter 
with her aunt Rene'e de Lorraine, abbess of St. Pierre, 
in the seclusion of the convent; but she was prevented 
from doing this by the arrival of the Earl of Bedford, 
who had been sent by Queen Elizabeth for the double 
purpose of congratulating the new King of France on his 
accession, and of offering her condolences to the two 
queens. As Catherine de Medicis wished to meet the 
ambassador at Fontainebleau, she removed thither with 
her court, and Mary Stuart accompanied her, 

Bedford's first reception took place on the i6th of Feb- 
ruary ; and after he had performed \- \s errand to the queen- 
mother, he said that he had orders to visit the Queen of 
Scotland also. He and the resident ambassador, Throck- 
morton, wrote a joint account of their interview, as fol- 
lows : — 

*' The queen-mother, at our request, called Monsieur de 
Guise to her and ordered him to conduct us both to the 
Queen of Scotland's chamber, and to present us to her. 
We found her in company with the Bishop of Amiens, 



72 Mary Stuart. 

divers other French bishops, and many ladies and gentle- 
men. After the queen's majesty's messages and letter 
had been delivered to her, she answered, with a very sor- 
rowful look and tone : ' I thank her majesty for her gen- 
tleness in comforting me now when I have most need 
of it ; and considering that the queen, my sister, doth 
now show the part of a good sister and cousin, whereof I 
have great need, I will endeavor as much as lieth in me 
to be even with her in good will, and in actions, also, 
according to my power, and though I be not so able as 
another, I yet trust the queen's majesty will take my good 
will in good part.' Then," continued the ambassadors, 
"we declared unto her that we would trouble her no 
further at that time, but we had something else to say to 
her, at her pleasure, from the queen's majesty. She re- 
plied that whensoever we would, we should be welcome 
to her, and prayed us to inform her uncle, the Due de 
Guise, when we desired to see her again ; and so she 
commanded Monsieur d'Oysell, her knight of honor, to 
conduct us to our lodgings." 

Two days later, Mary sent d'Oysell to conduct the am- 
bassadors to her presence again, and after the Duke of 
Bedford had spoken at length on the points contained in 
his instructions, she replied : " I thank Her Majesty the 
Queen of England for her good advice, which I will follow 
and take in good part, both because it comes from my 
good sister and cousin, and because I take it to be profit- 
able to myself, for I have need of friendship and good 
counsel considering my position. There are more reasons 
for perfect and assured amity between the queen's majesty 
and me than between any two princes in all Christendom, 
for we are both in one isle, both of one language, near 
kinswomen, and both queens — so there are many reasons 
and conveniences why we should be friends. And I will 



iSfii- Ma7y Stuart. 73 

do my utmost to move the queen's majesty to believe that 
I am her assured friend, good cousin, sister and neighbor, 
trusting that I shall find the like on her part." 

" Madam, I am glad to hear these words from you," 
returned the ambassador, " and I trust you will make 
them good, for then you will find the queen, my mistress, 
such a sister and neighbor as you desire to have her. 
And because in your late husband's time there were occa- 
sions for unkindness, which were explained and arranged, 
and also that God hath so disposed of things by the death 
of the king, your said late husband, that you now have 
absolute authority to govern your own realm at your pleas- 
ure, it may suit you to ratify the late Treaty of Edinburgh 
without further delay, whereby the queen, my mistress, 
shall have great cause to esteem you the good friend and 
sister that you say you will be." 

Mary replied that she could not give a definite answer 
to so important a matter without consulting her ministers, 
who were not then present. The ambassador continued 
to urge her to ratify the treaty, whereupon she exclaimed : 
" Alas ! my lord, what would you have me do ? I have no 
council here ; the matter is serious, and especially to one 
of my years ; I pray you, therefore, to give me respite till I 
speak with you again." And so the diplomatists were 
dismissed. 

The next day they had a final audience with the Queen 
of Scots, but she put them off, as before, with assurances 
of friendship for Queen Elizabeth and a promise to send 
an answer with regard to the treaty as soon as she should 
have an opportunity of communing with the nobility and 
council of Scotland. So, for the time being, the treaty 
which would have deprived Mary of a great deal of power, 
and would have been a serious disadvantage to her realm, 
remained unratified. 



CHAPTER III. 

[A.D. 1561,] Shortly after her interview with the Eng- 
lish ambassadors, Mary Stuart spent a month at Fontaine- 
bleau, her favorite of all the palaces in France, and then 
went to Rheims for the Easter festival. But at this place 
she stayed only a few days, because she had promised to 
visit her grandmother at Joinville. Before reaching there, 
however, she met deputies at two different towns in Cham- 
pagne, inviting her to return to Scotland. These were 
representatives of the jarring parties that divided her 
realm, one being John Lesley, afterwards Bishop of Ross, 
and the other her half-brother, James, Prior of St. An- 
drew's, who was now an ardent Reformer. 

In the month of July, Mary bade adieu forever to 
Paris, much regretted by all classes of the citizens. The 
general feeling on that occasion was expressed by one of 
the French writers of the day thus : " As a lovely mead 
despoiled of its flowers, as a picture deprived of its colors, 
as the heavens in the absence of stars, the sea of its 
waves, a ship of its sails, a palace of royal pomp, or a ring 
bereft of its precious pearl, — thus will France grieve, 
bereft of her ornament, losing that royalty which was her 
flower, her color, her beauty. Ha, Scotland ! I would 
that thou mightest wander, like Delos, on the face of the 
sea, or sink to its profoundest depths, so that the sails of 
thy bright queen, vainly striving to seek her realm, might 
suddenly turn and bear her back to her fair duchy of 
Lorraine ! " 

74 



1561- Mary Stuart. 75 

Accompanied by the royal family and the court, Mary 
proceeded to St. Germain-en-Laye, the familiar palace 
which had been her first home in France, and was to be 
her last resting-place among the friends and associates of 
her youth. On the 17th of July, she received a letter 
from d'Oysell informing her of Queen Elizabeth's refusal 
to permit her to pass through her realm, and two days 
later came an application for an audience from Throck- 
morton. Mary appointed the next day, and, after deliver- 
ing the queen's message, the ambassador explained that 
the reason for her refusal was Mary's objection to signing 
the Treaty of Edinburgh, adding : " But I am commanded 
to inform your majesty that if you will agree to the ratifi- 
cation, my royal mistress will not only grant free passage, 
but she will be glad to see your highness in her realm for 
a friendly conference and the establishment of perfect 
amity between your majesties." 

The young queen, who had been standing during this 
address, now sat down, and courteously invited Throck- 
morton to a seat at her side. Then, after requesting 
those who were near to retire to a greater distance, she 
said : " Monsieur, I know not well mine own infirmity, 
nor how far I may be transported with passion, and I like 
not to have so many witnesses as the queen, your mistress, 
was content to have, when she talked with Monsieur 
d'Oysell. There is nothing that doth more grieve me 
than that I did so forget myself as to require of the queen, 
your mistress, that favor, which I had no need to ask. I 
needed no more to make her privy to my journey than she 
doth me of hers. I may pass well enough home into mine 
own realm, I think, without her passport or license ; for 
though the late king, your master, used all the impeach- 
ment he could, both to stop me and catch me as I came 
here, yet you know, Monsieur I'Ambassadeur, I came 



76 Afary Stuart. 

hither safely ; and I may have as good means to help me 
home again as I had to come hither, if I would employ 
my friends. Truly, I was so far from evil meaning to the 
queen, your mistress, that at the time I was more willing 
to employ her amity than that of all the friends I have ; 
and yet you know, both in this realm, and elsewhere, I 
have friends, and such as would be glad to employ their 
forces and aid to stand me in stead. You have often told 
me that the friendship between the queen, your mistress, 
and me was very necessary and profitable for us both. I 
have reason now to think that the queen, your mistress, is 
not of that mind ; for I am sure if she were, she would 
not have refused me thus unkindly. It seems that she 
cares more for the friendship of my disobedient subjects 
than she does of me, their sovereign, who am her equal in 
degree, though inferior in wisdom and experience — her 
nearest kinswoman and neighbor; and think you, there 
should be such good meaning between her and my sub- 
jects who have forgotten their principal duty to me, their 
sovereign, as there should be betwixt her and me } I per- 
ceive that the queen, your mistress, doth think that, be- 
cause my subjects have done me wrong, my friends and 
allies will forsake me also. Indeed, your mistress doth 
give me cause to seek friendship where I did not intend 
to ask it ; but it will be thought very strange, among all 
princes and countries, that she should be the first to ani- 
mate my subjects against me, and now being a widow, to 
impeach my going into mine own country. I ask her 
nothing but friendship. I do not trouble her state, nor 
practise with her subjects ; and yet I know there be those 
in her realm that are inclined enough to hear offers. I 
know also that they are not of the mind she is of, neither 
in religion nor other things. She says that I am young 
and lack experience ; but I have age enough, and expe- 



iS6i. Mary Stuart. •/•/ 

rience, to use myself towards my friends and kinsfolk 
friendly and uprightly ; and I trust my discretion shall 
not so fail me that my passion shall move me to use other 
language of her than becometh a queen and my next 
kinswoman. I could tell you that I am as she is, a queen 
— allied and friended, as is known; and I tell you also 
that my heart is not inferior to hers ; but I will not con- 
tinue to make comparisons." 

The young queen then proceeded to explain again why 
she had refused to ratify the treaty, and concluded by 
asking the following question: "I pray you, Monsieur 
1 'Ambassadeur, tell me how ariseth this strange behavior 
in the queen, your mistress, towards me. I desire to 
know in order that I may reform myself if I have failed." 

Poor Mary drew down upon herself a severe reprimand 
on the score of the serious offence she had given to 
Queen Elizabeth in consequence of her having assumed 
the arms and title of Queen of England. " But, Monsieur 
I'Ambassadeur," she eagerly replied, " I was then under 
command of King Henry, my father, and of the late king, 
my lord and husband ; and whatsoever was then done by 
their orders, was continued until both their deaths, since 
which time you know I have neither borne the arms nor 
used the title of England. Methinks these, my doings, 
might assure the queen, your mistress, that what was done 
before, was done by command of them that had power 
over me. It were no great dishonor to the queen, my 
cousin, though I, a queen also, did bear the arms of Eng. 
land, for I am sure that some inferior to me, and not so 
well a-parented as I am, do bear the arms of England. 
You cannot deny but that my grandmother, Margaret 
Tudor, was the king, her father's, sister, and, I trow, the 
eldest sister he had. I do assure you. Monsieur I'Ambas- 
sadeur, and I do speak unto you truly as I think, I never 



78 Maiy Stuart. 

meant nor thought matter against the queen, my cousin. 
Indeed, I know what I am, and would be sorry either to 
do others wrong or suffer too much wrong to myself. 
And now that I have told you my mind plainly, I pray 
you behave like a good minister, whose part it is to make 
things betwixt princes rather better than worse." And 
thus Mary Stuart closed the conference. 

Catherine de Medicis expressed regret to Throckmorton 
that Queen Elizabeth had refused Mary a free passage 
home to her own realm, and said : " They are neighbors 
and near cousins, and both of them have powerful friends 
and allies, so it may chance that more unkindness shall 
ensue from this matter than is to be wished for or meet to 
come to pass. Thanks be to God, all the princes of 
Christendom are now at peace, and it were great pity they 
should not so continue. I perceive the matter of this un- 
kindness is grounded upon the delay of the ratification of 
the treaty. The queen, my daughter, hath declared unto 
you that she hath stayed the same until she may have the 
advice of her own subjects, wherein I think she doth act 
discreetly; and though she have her uncles here, by 
whom it is thought she should be advised, yet, considering 
they be subjects and counsellors of the king, my son, they 
are not the meetest to give her counsel in this matter. 
The nobles of her own realm would neither like it nor 
allow that their sovereign should resolve without their ad- 
vice in a matter of consequence ; therefore, methinks the 
queen, your mistress, might be satisfied with this answer, 
and accommodate the queen, my daughter, her cousin and 
neighbor, with such favor as she demandeth." 

This explanation was as unavailing as the same oft 
repeated by Mary Stuart herself had been. Elizabeth 
had made up her mind to force a quarrel as an excuse for 
endeavoring to intercept and capture the Queen of Scots 



iS6i. Mary Stuart. 79 

on her homeward journey, and Throckmorton lent his 
assistance to further the project. He wrote Elizabeth : 
" That I might the better ascertain whether Queen Mary 
did intend to make the journey, I repaired to her to take 
my leave, and said that, hearing by common report that 
she intended to take such voyage shortly, I thought it my 
duty to take my leave of her, and was sorry she had not 
given your majesty so good occasion for amity as that I, 
your minister, could conveniently wait upon her at her 
embarking." 

" If my preparations were not so far advanced as they 
are," replied Mary, " peradventure the queen, your mis- 
tress's, unkindness might stay my voyage ; but now I am 
determined to adventure the matter, whatsoever come of it. 
I trust the wind will be so favorable that I shall not come 
upon the coast of England ; but if I do, then. Monsieur 
I'Ambassadeur, the queen, your mistress, will have me in 
her hands, to do her will of me ; and if she be so hard- 
hearted as to desire my end, peradventure she may then 
do her pleasure and make sacrifice of me. That casualty 
might be better for me than to live ; in this matter God's 
will be done ! " 

Throckmorton felt not the slightest pity for the young 
creature, who, if seized, was to be consigned to a life-long 
captivity in an English prison, but proceeded to spy out 
whatever plans were made for the sorrowful widow's 
return to her native land and report them, adding as a 
postscript, " If you mind to catch the Queen of Scots, your 
ships must search and see all, for she meaneth rather to 
steal away than to pass by force." 

Mary did not get away from France quite so soon as she 
had expected, because of the scarcity of funds. She had 
received no part of either her royal revenue or personal 
income from Scotland for more than a year, during which 



8o Mary Stuart. 

time she had been living on her jointure as queen-dowager 
of France and the estates she had inherited from her 
mother. She therefore obtained a loan of a hundred 
thousand crowns from the King of France, and on the 25th 
of July, 1 56 1, departed from St. Germain-en-Laye, attend- 
ed by a more numerous and brilliant retinue of noble 
ladies and gentlemen than had ever swelled the train of 
any royal bride of France. Never was a queen of that 
realm so beloved, regretted, and esteemed as Mary Stuart, 
and it was with a heavy heart that she bade farewell to 
her beloved relations. She had one more sorrowful duty 
to perform before leaving France forever, and that was to 
visit Fescamp, the burial-place of her mother, to bid adieu 
to the lifeless remains, that had been denied interment in 
Scotland. 

Several days later, she arrived at Calais, where she was 
forced to wait a week for a favorable wind. All things 
being propitious, at last, Mary embarked on the 15th of 
August, with her three uncles, her ladies and retinue. She 
was attended to the water's edge by the Duke and Duch- 
ess of Guise, Cardinal de Lorraine and a numerous com- 
pany of weeping friends and servants. Two galleys had 
been prepared for her and her followers, and four French 
ships of war for protection. Sobs choked her voice when 
she beheld the vessels that were to convey her from the 
country where she had been cherished and petted as a 
child, honored as a queen, and almost adored as a woman. 
She raised her eyes to the faces of her friends, pressed her 
hands to her heart, and parted in silence more eloquent 
than words. 

She continued very sad throughout the voyage, and 
often wept bitterly. Once her galley was in sight of the 
English squadron ; and, had it not been for the energetic 
strokes of her rowers, she would surely have been cap- 




MARY LANDING AT LEITH. 



1561. Mary Stuart. Z^ 

tured. A providential fog concealed the course of the 
galley, and thickened to such a degree, as the coast of 
Scotland was approached, that the pilots did not know 
where they were, and expressed an anxious desire to see 
the beacon lights. " What need of beacon lights have 
we," asked the poet Chastellar, " to guide us over the 
dark waves, when we have the starry eyes of this fair 
queen, whose heavenly beams irradiate both sea and 
land, and brighten all they shine on ? " 

At last, after two whole days and nights of impenetra- 
ble fog, the sun came forth bright and clear on Sunday 
morning, when, to the astonishment of pilots and crew, it 
was discovered that they were in the midst of the most 
dangerous rocks along the Scottish coast, and that a 
miracle had preserved them and their sovereign from a 
watery grave. " I have no fear of death," said the queen, 
with calm self-possession ; " nor should I wish to live un- 
less it were for the general good of Scotland." She how- 
ever expressed her gratitude for the safety of her friends 
and crew ; and on the 20th of August, at six o'clock in 
the morning, nearly a week earlier than had been ex- 
pected, she entered the harbor of Leith. 

It had been Mary's intention to proceed at once to 
Holyrood ; but on being informed that nothing was ready 
for her accommodation in that palace, she went to the 
house of one of her faithful subjects at Leith, named 
Andrew Lambie, where she and her ladies rested until 
the afternoon. When all the necessary arrangements 
had been made, Mary's half-brother. Lord James, the 
Earl of Argyll, and such of the nobles as were in 
Edinburgh, came to congratulate the queen on her safe 
arrival, and to conduct her to her palace. As there were 
no carriages in Scotland, she and her ladies had to travel 
on horseback. This would not have been unpleasant 



84 Maty Stuart. 

had the proper sort of animals been provided ; for Mary 
was an accomplished horsewoman, and would not have 
objected to display her fine figure to the eager crowd 
that had assembled to see her mount. But one of her 
galleys had been captured by the English, and on it were 
her favorite state-horse and the rest of the fine animals 
she had seen safely embarked at Calais for the use of her 
ladies on their arrival in Scotland. Lord James had not 
been very dainty in his choice of steeds to supply this 
loss ; for he had brought only a few sorry looking 
hack-horses, with miserable saddles and bridles, pretend- 
ing that nothing better could be secured at such short 
notice. At this mortifying display of the poverty of her 
realm, which she knew would excite the ridicule of the 
luxurious French nobles, who had been accustomed to 
see her surrounded with elegance and splendor, poor 
Mary's eyes filled with tears. She did not doubt that 
this was a mark of personal disrespect to herself ; 
and with the emotion natural to a girl of eighteen, 
she thus expressed herself : " These are not like 
the equestrian appointments to which I have been ac- 
customed ; but it behooves me to arm myself with 
patience." Nevertheless, vexatious tears coursed down 
her cheeks. 

The young queen's entrance into Holyrood was greeted 
with general acclamations ; bonfires were lighted, and 
the neighborhood was illuminated. The nobles and 
gentry of her realm hastened to Edinburgh to pay their 
respects, to make complaints, or to recommend projects ; 
and Mary tried in every possible way to satisfy both high 
and low. The graciousness and sweetness of her deport- 
ment won all hearts ; and her subjects felt proud in the 
possession of a queen who was the most beautiful and 
perfect lady of her age. 



is6i. Maiy Stitart. 8/ 

Everything went on peacefully at Holyrood until the 
24th of August. That being Sunday, the queen ordered 
mass to be said in the royal chapel, claiming for herself 
and the Roman Catholic members of her household the 
same liberty of conscience and freedom of worship which 
she had accorded to her subjects without exception. 
Patrick, Lord Lindsay, one of the leaders of the Congre- 
gation, buckled on his armor, and, rushing to the chapel 
door, brandished his sword and shouted, " The idolater 
priest shall die the death ! " Others attacked the queen's 
almoner, and would have slain him had he not fled for 
protection to the presence of his royal mistress. Mary 
was offended and grieved at the occurrence, and ex- 
claimed : " This is a fine commencement of what I have 
to expect. What will be the end I know not ; but I fore- 
see it must be very bad." But she was resolute in her 
purpose ; and her chapel door was guarded while the 
mass was celebrated. In the afternoon there was a meet- 
ing at the Abbey ; and the crowd of Protestants who 
assembled there declared that " the land which God had 
by his power purged from idolatry should not be again 
polluted." 

By the advice of her privy council, the queen caused a 
proclamation to be made at the market-cross, stating that 
she was most desirous to preserve order in her realm ; 
that she intended not to interrupt the form of religion 
which at her return she found established in her realm ; 
and that any attempt on the part of others to do so would 
be punished with death ; and that she, on the other 
hand, commanded her subjects not to molest or trouble 
any of her domestic servants, or any of the persons who 
had accompanied her from France, either within her 
palace or without, or to make any derision or invasion of 
them, under the same penalty. This had a good effect ; 



88 Mary Stitart. 

and for a time there was no further trouble as to the mode 
of worship by which the queen chose to go to heaven. 

In a week after her arrival at Edinburgh, Mary took the 
bold step of demanding a conference with her formidable 
adversary, John Knox ; and she began by reproaching him 
with having excited a revolt amongst a portion of her 
subjects against her mother and herself, also with having 
written a book against her just authority, entitled " The 
First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regi- 
ment of Women." 

He boldly defended the principles of his ungallant 
work, and the able manner in which he considered that he 
had set them forth, seeming thoroughly well satisfied with 
the literary merit of his book. " Then ye think that I 
have no just authority } " asked Mary, coming straight to 
the point. Knox dared not give a direct reply ; but he 
expatiated on the difference in opinion of learned men in 
general on this subject, and concluded thus : " If the 
realm finds no inconvenience from the regiment of a 
woman, that which they approve I shall not farther dis- 
allow than within my own breast. My hope is that so long 
as ye do not defile your hands with the blood of the saints 
of God that neither I nor that book shall hurt you or 
your authority ; for in very deed, madam, the book was 
written most especially against that wicked Jezebel of 
England." 

The conference continued for a long time ; and Mary 
was so much impressed by the reformer's remarks on the 
subject of religion that, had not his ill manners rendered 
him a stumbling-block of offence to her, she might have 
been made a powerful instrument in the work of reform 
in her divided realm. But Knox was harsh and unchari- 
table, and, although he made the young queen weep by his 
brutal remarks, he failed to touch her heart. 



iS^i- Mary Stuart. 91 

Mary was daily gaining ground in the affections of her 
people, who were now making grand preparations for her 
public entrance into the metropolis. The 2d of Septem- 
ber was appointed for this important event. In the morn- 
ing, her majesty left Holyrood House, with her train, and 
rode through the long street to the foot of Castlehill, where 
a triumphal arch had been erected for her to pass under. 
She was accompanied by most of the nobles of Scotland ; 
but the Duke of Chatelherault and his son, the Earl of 
Arran, were conspicuous by their absence. 

Mary rode up the hill to the castle, where, being received 
with due honors, she dined at the customary hour of 
twelve. When she emerged, after dinner, and turned 
towards the city, there was a grand firing of cannon ; and, 
as she descended the hill, she was met by an escort of 
fift;y young men, clad in yellow satin, their arms and legs 
bare, and blackened to resemble Moors. Their faces 
were covered by black visors, their hats were of the same 
sombre hue, and they were laden down with gold chains 
and bright-colored precious stones. The idea was that 
these youths of Edinburgh were Mary's humble slaves and 
blackamoors, and that they esteemed themselves honored 
in being permitted to wear her chains. Sixteen of the 
most honest men of the town, who had been appointed by 
the council, received their fair young sovereign, under a 
canopy of fine purple velvet, lined with red satin and 
fringed with gold. Eight bore the canopy over her and 
her horse, and the others walked on either side, ready to 
relieve their companions in this labor of love. At the 
market-place there was an immense wooden gate, hung 
with arms and tapestry, above which sat some young girls, 
who sang when the queen approached ; and, as she passed 
through, a cloud suspended from the top, opened and 
revealed a "bonny bairn," who descended as though she 



92 Mary Stuart. 

had wings, and delivered to her highness the keys of the 
town, together with a Bible and a Psalm-book, covered 
with purple velvet. The child delivered a set speech in 
praise of the book, which was a Protestant translation. 
Mary received the Bible, and delivered it into the care 
of Arthur Erskine, the captain of her guard, which was 
considered a great crime by those who beheld wrong in 
everything she did, because Erskine was a rigid Papist ; 
but how she was to carry a heavy book and at the same 
time manage her horse it is difficult to conceive. Other 
pageants and speeches greeted the queen in different parts 
of the city ; and, after returning thanks for all that had 
been done in her honor, she returned to Holyrood. The 
following evening, she gave a grand entertainment to her 
Scottish nobles and ladies. 

One of her first cares was to appoint two almoners, 
Archibald Crawfurd and Peter Rorie, for the distribution 
of charity to the needy ; and she took pains to devote a 
portion of her private income for the education of chil- 
dren. She also revived the humane appointment of the 
king, her father, of an advocate for the poor, whose duty 
it was to plead the cause of the indigent and to see that 
they were treated with justice and mercy. Three days in 
the week they could appear to enter their complaints ; and 
the queen often sat with the judges herself, to make sure 
that nobody was neglected. It was her earnest desire 
to render her realm peaceful and prosperous by gentle 
means, and for this reason she paid a great deal of atten- 
tion to business. Hers was certainly no easy task ; and 
what made it more difficult was that her religion was dif- 
ferent from that of the majority of her subjects. How- 
ever, with strict regard to their wishes, she chose a 
Protestant cabinet, with the exception of the Earl of 
Huntley, her Lord Chancellor. Lord James, the Prior of 



1561- Mary Stuart. 93 

St. Andrew's, was her Prime Minister ; William Maitland, 
of Lethington, was her Secretary of State ; James Mak- 
gill, Clerk-Register ; Wishart, nephew of the martyr, was 
her Privy Seal ; and Kirkaldy, of the Grange, and Henry 
Balnaves held offices in the cabinet. Of her council, seven 
were Protestants and five Roman Catiiolics. 

Mary sat daily in council with her ministers for several 
hours ; but, as she was the only woman present, she 
relieved herself of embarrassment by sewing or embroid- 
ering, her little sandalwood work-table being always placed 
by her chair of state, with all the necessary articles. 
While her fingers were occupied, she listened attentively 
to the opinions of every gentleman present, and expressed 
her own in return. 

After seeing his niece established on her throne with 
every prospect of rendering herself a blessing to her 
realm, the Due d'Aumale, with the greater number of her 
French followers, returned home. The queen was now 
desirous of showing herself to her people, and of ascer- 
taining their condition. She therefore determined to 
undertake a progress through the central counties, stop- 
ping at some of the principal towns, and at her country 
palaces. As she was to be accompanied by fifteen ladies 
of her household, six members of her cabinet council, her 
state officers, her uncle, the Marquis d'Elbceuf, and her 
brother, the Lord James, she decided to go on horseback. 
In consequence of the capture and detention of her 
horses by Queen Elizabeth, Mary had been compelled to 
provide herself with a fresh supply, which had cost her a 
great deal of money. She was the first lady in Scotland 
who ilsed the modern side-saddle with a pommel, and here 
it will be well to quote the description of Queen Mary's 
appearance on horseback, as given by Hogg, the Scotch 
poet, called the Ettrick Shepherd, from tradition : — 



94 Mary Stuart. 

For such a queen, the Stuarts' heir, 

A queen so courteous, young, and fair, 

Who would not every foe defy ? 

Who would not stand, who would not die ? 

Light on her airy steed she sprung ; 

No chieftain there rode half so free. 

Or half so light or gracefully. 

When the gale heaved her bosom's screen, 

What beauties in her form were seen ! 

And when her courser's mane it swung, 

A thousand silver bells were rung. 

A sight so fair, on Scotland's plain, 

A Scot shall never see again. 

The queen departed from Holyrood, with her retinue, 
on the nth of September, and reached Linlithgow, her 
birthplace, the same evening. After holding court the 
following day, she proceeded to Stirling, and, being re- 
ceived with customary honors, entered the fortress which 
was associated with the earliest recollections of her child- 
hood. That night she barely escaped being burned to 
death ; for a lighted candle set fire to the curtains of her 
bed while she was asleep, and she was almost stifled with 
the smoke before she could be rescued. This accident 
made quite a sensation, on account of an ancient predic- 
tion that a queen would be burnt at Stirling; but it 
did not affect Mary half so seriously as the riot which 
occurred on the Sunday during the mass she had ordered. 
It was her prime minister and justice-general who caused 
the cowardly assault that was made on her chaplains, and 
the unlucky creatures were seriously hurt before quiet 
could be restored. 

Mary was so displeased that she left Stirling that very 
afternoon, and rode towards Leslie Castle, in Fifeshire, 
the estate of the Earl of Rothes. On the 17th of the 
month she made a state entrance into Perth, where she 
was well received and presented with a golden heart filled 



iS6i- Mary Stuart. 95 

with coin. But while riding through the streets of the 
city, whether from fatigue or over-excitement, her majesty- 
was taken ill, and fainted before she could reach her 
palace, whither she was borne in a state of unconscious- 
ness. She was in the saddle again the next day, however, 
and rode to Dundee, where she remained until the 20th, 
then crossed the Tay, and proceeded to St. Andrew's. A 
week was spent at this city, and on the 29th Mary was 
back again in Edinburgh. In every town she had been 
received with such honors as the poor people of her deso- 
lated realm were able to offer ; and it was a source of 
satisfaction to her to find that the masses were generally 
disposed to regard her with confidence and affection. 

Scarcely had she returned to the metropolis when the 
provost and other city officers attempted a most despotic 
and illegal act of persecution against some of their fellow- 
subjects, by issuing a proclamation that all Papists must 
leave the town under the penalty of being set on the 
market-cross for six hours, exposed to whatever insults 
and indignities the rabble might choose to inflict, carted 
around the town, and burned on both cheeks ; and if 
caught a third time, to be punished with death. Mary's 
indignation was excessive; and she addressed a letter to 
the town council, denouncing the oppressive edict as an 
infringement of the liberties of the realm. Even had she 
been a member of the reformed Congregation, it would 
have been her duty, as a just sovereign, to have done the 
same. But no other effect was produced by her remon- 
strance than a repetition of the same proclamation, couched 
in even more offensive language. This was too much ; 
and Mary ordered the town council to elect other magis- 
trates in place of those who had offended. She was 
obeyed, and she thereupon issued her royal proclamation 
granting permission to all good and faithful subjects to 



96 Mary Stuart. 

remain in Edinburgh or to leave, according to their pleas- 
ure or convenience. " And so," says Knox, " got the devil 
freedom again, whereas before he durst not have been seen 
in daylight upon the common street," 

It was not only the leaders of the Congregation who 
vexed and annoyed the queen at this period ; for she was 
beset with complaints and demands from the Roman 
Catholic party as well. The head of this party was the 
Earl of Huntley, who boasted that he could have mass 
celebrated in three counties, if only Mary would give him 
permission ; but, as she had pledged herself not to allow 
any alteration to be made in the religion she found estab- 
lished on her return, no such attempt could be sanctioned. 
She was accused of being an injury to the church, and the 
princes of the House of Guise threatened to organize a 
party in her own realm against her ; but she steadily 
resisted all foreign interference, and governed according 
to her own liberal ideas. She even read many works of 
Protestant divines, and discussed them, though she never 
swerved from her own belief. 

Mary became very fond of Lethington, her Secretary of 
State ; she did not respect his principles, but she admired 
his intellect, and felt that he could appreciate her abilities. 
He was a smooth-tongued, polished courtier, while Lord 
James was rough and outspoken ; for this reason her 
majesty believed the latter the more honest. This was a 
serious mistake, however, for both were hypocrites of the 
deepest dye. 

The queen's attention was early drawn towards the con- 
dition of the Border counties, which swarmed with fierce 
banditti, whom it was impossible to control excepting by 
means of a military force. She therefore appointed Lord 
James to bring them to submission, and, assisted by the 
Earl of Bothwell, this commander, by means of hanging, 



1562. Mary Stuart. 97 

drowning, and other severe penalties, reduced the most 
warlike to obedience. 

On the anniversary of her husband's death, Queen 
Mary had a dirge sung for the repose of his soul, and it 
was on this occasion that the superb voice of David 
Riccio was first heard in the Chapel Royal at Holyrood. 
Riccio was secretary to Count di Morretta, ambassador of 
the Duke of Savoy, and a zealous Roman Catholic. He 
was such an excellent musician that the queen requested 
her uncle, the Marquis d'Elboeuf, to ask the count to 
leave him in Scotland, and she engaged him to sing regu- 
larly at the mass in her chapel, and to act as her secretary. 
He had been particularly recommended to her by Cardi- 
nal Lorraine, who wrote : " I advise you to take Riccio 
into your service, both on account of his incorruptible 
integrity and because, from his being ugly, deformed, and 
of mature age, no cause for scandal can possibly arise 
from your being much together." The fact of Mary's 
religious services being constantly interrupted by murder- 
ous attacks on her choir, made her anxious to retain as 
leader a gentleman who was under the protection of a 
foreign embassy ; and this was her reason for engaging 
David Riccio. 

[A.D. 1562.] Early in the new year Mary left Holy- 
rood to be present at the marriage of her half-brother, 
Lord John, with Lady Jane Hepburn, which was solem- 
nized at Crichton Castle, the residence of the Earl of 
Bothwell, the bride's brother. On this interesting occa- 
sion, she was the guest of that nobleman, with whom her 
destiny was afterwards so fatally connected. 

At this time she was much gratified by the honorable 
reception Queen Elizabeth gave to her uncle, the Grand 
Prior, This handsome military monk did more during 
his visit to the court of England towards reconciling the 



98 Mary Stuart. 

royal spinster to her fair cousin of Scotland, than all the 
formal diplomacy in the world could have accoiri^lished. 
^^ Mon Prietir^'" as Elizabeth affectionately styled this 
agreeable flatterer, managed so adroitly that she forgot 
the affront Mary had offered in assuming the arms and 
title of England, and sent her a pressing invitation to 
make her a visit. The Queen of Scots testified her ap- 
preciation of this courtesy, and a show of friendship was 
kept up for a while between the two royal ladies by letters 
and an exchange of presents. 

Elizabeth's jealousy was aroused, after a time, because 
several princes wanted to marry her fair cousin. One of 
these was the heir of Spain, as whose wife Mary would 
have been in position to contest for the crown of Eng- 
land ; another was the Archduke Charles, who had been 
Elizabeth's suitor, and there were besides some Italian 
princes. Elizabeth feigned sisterly affection for her 
rival, hoping thus to control her, and to prevent her from 
marrying at all. As for Mary, she bestowed very little 
thought on matrimony, and devoted her energies towards 
the restoration of peace and prosperity to her unhappy 
land. When questioned on the subject, she was wont to 
reply : " I will none other husband but the Queen of 
England, and I wish withal that one of us were a king, in 
order to settle all debates." 

No allusion had been made to the Treaty of Edinburgh 
for a long time, but Elizabeth had not forgotten it by any 
means, and in the autumn she sent Sir Peter Mewtas to 
demand a ratification of the same. As Mary had already 
stated her objections, she merely repeated her desire for 
good will and friendship ; she sent Elizabeth a polite letter 
by the envoy and a present of a handsome gold chain ; 
and she retaliated by a request that in the event of her 
royal sister's death, she should be appointed successor to 



1562. Mary Stuart. 99 

the crown of England. Like her father, Henry VIII., 
Elizabeth never could bear any allusion to the possibility 
of dying, and considered it a great piece of impertinence. 
She declared that nothing should induce her to appoint 
any one to reign after her, as she felt assured her days 
would not be long if she did so, and that the mention of 
her successor produced the same effect on her mind as if 
her winding-sheet were to be always hung up before her 
eyes. 



CHAPTER IV. 

[A.D. 1562.] At the commencement of the year 1562, 
there were rumors at the court of Holyrood of the en- 
gagement of Queen Mary to her young cousin, Lord 
Darnley, but as the King of Sweden persevered in wooing 
her through his ambassadors, no credit was given to the 
idea of an alliance which Mary seemed to consider be- 
neath her dignity. 

On the last day of February, Mary removed with her 
court to Falkland, to pass a few weeks in hawking and 
hunting. No sooner was she out of the way than the 
Earl of Bothwell, who on account of shameless, riotous 
conduct, had been banished from court for a month by 
her majesty, returned, with his mind bent on mischief. 
His position had been so seriously injured by his disor- 
derly conduct that his old friends would have nothing to 
do with him ; he therefore determined to ally himself with 
the powerful party. He was already a member of the 
Congregation ; he now solicited a secret interview with 
John Knox, and was admitted to his study late one night. 
Bothwell began to lament the sinfulness of his former 
life, and expressed great desire to reform, but he said 
that what weighed most heavily on his mind was his mis- 
behavior towards the Earl of Arran, with whom he begged 
Knox to bring about a reconciliation. 

Knox was a born vassal of Bothwell's family, which fact 
explains the reason for his treating so notorious a profli- 
gate with courtesy and kindness. " My lord," he said, 




JOHN KNOX. 



1 562. Mary Stuart. 103 

" would to God that in me were counsel or judgment 
that might comfort and relieve you. For, albeit that to 
this hour it hath not chanced me to speak with your lord- 
ship face to face, yet I have borne a good mind to your 
house, and have been sorry to my heart of the troubles 
I have heard you to be involved in. For, my lord, 
my grandfather and father have served your lordship's 
predecessors, and some have died under their stand- 
ards, and this is a part of the obligation of our Scottish 
kindness." 

Influenced by this spirit of feudalism, the great reformer 
promised to grant Bothwell's request, particularly as he 
was a person of considerable political importance. So a 
meeting was appointed between him and Arran at the 
house of Kirk-o'-Field, and when Bothwell entered, the 
earl advanced and embraced him, with these words : — ■ 
" If the heart be upright, few ceremonies may content 
me." All present shook hands with the scamp, Knox 
blessed the reconciliation, and the two earls became so 
friendly that everybody was astonished. Next day they 
appeared together at the sermon, and afterwards went to 
visit the Due de Chatelherault. His object was to render 
both the father and son instrumental in his audacious pro- 
ject of abducting the queen. He nearly succeeded by 
working on the despairing passion of Arran, who wanted 
to marry the queen, and by arousing the suspicion of the 
duke that it was Mary's intention to exclude the house of 
Hamilton from the succession, in favor of the Lennox 
family or of her brother, Lord James. 

It was planned among these three that Mary should be 
surprised while hunting at Falkland, and forcibly carried 
off to Dumbarton Castle, which belonged to Chatelherault ; 
that her two favorite ministers should be slain, and the gov- 
ernment placed in the hands of Arran, who was to become 



I04 Mary Stuart. 

the husband of the sovereign. At first the earl agreed to 
everything, but soon he began to suspect that he was 
merely the dupe of Bothwell, and he hastened to Knox, to 
whom he confessed the plot. As he was in a state of fever- 
ish excitement, the reformer tried to soothe and reassure 
him ; but in vain. The unfortunate nobleman returned 
to his father's house, and wrote a full account of the con- 
spiracy to Mary, asking what she desired him to do. She 
replied that, if he would continue in his duty he should 
find it to his advantage. Arran then tried to dissuade his 
father from assisting Bothwell, but, finding him bent on 
carrying out the treasonable design, he told him of his 
having informed the queen. This put the duke in such a 
passion that he would have slain his son then and there, 
had he not fled for refuge to his own chamber, where he 
remained locked up the whole of the next day. He em- 
ployed himself in writing a letter to Lord James in cipher, 
which it was impossible for either that nobleman or the 
queen to comprehend. 

Meanwhile, the Abbot of Kilwinning arrived at Falk- 
land, and told the queen that the Earl of Arran had 
offended his father by falsely accusing him of treason ; 
and had since escaped out of his chamber window by 
tearing sheets and fastening them together, and no one 
knew whither he had gone. He denounced everything 
Arran had written as false ; but as he was one of the 
alleged conspirators, he was arrested. Within an hour 
afterwards, Bothwell made his appearance, for the purpose 
of exculpating himself, but, on being cross-questioned, he 
appeared so guilty that he too was locked up. The next 
morning Arran arrived at the house of Lord James, to 
whom he made a verbal statement in accordance with 
what he had written to Mary. But he gave unmistakable 
proof that his mind was seriously affected, and his father, 



1562. Mary Stuart. 105 

who neither wrote nor came to protest his innocence to 
the queen, merely lamented that he had a crazy son. 

Arran remained at the house of Lord James for five 
days, at the end of which time he denied that Chatelher- 
ault had been implicated in the plot to abduct the queen, 
but persisted in denouncing Bothwell. He was removed 
to the Castle of St. Andrew's, where, after five or six days' 
imprisonment, he earnestly entreated to see Mary. She 
ordered that he and Bothwell should be confronted in her 
presence before her council. There Arran charged Both- 
well to his face, in a clear, concise, sensible manner, and 
made such a favorable impression on the queen and her 
ministers that Bothwell's denial sounded as false as it 
really was, and the traitor was ordered back to prison. 

On the ig.th of April, the nobles convened at St. An- 
drew's, when the Due de Chatelherault, who feared for the 
safety of himself and his house, crossed the water, accom- 
.panied by a number of his kindred, and, having been 
granted an interview with the queen, threw himself at her 
feet, with the tears trickling down his cheeks, and begged 
her to be merciful, and not allow him to be condemned on 
the delirious accusation of his son. Mary now had an 
opportunity to crush a person who had been guilty of 
many acts of treason, and who had made several attempts 
to overthrow her government and deprive her of her 
realm ; but the old man's tears touched her heart, and she 
not only spoke words of comfort, but promised that he 
should have full liberty to defend himself, in her presence, 
before the council of lords. He denied any knowledge of 
Bothwell's plot, and offered such proofs of his son's insan- 
ity that Mary said she could not proceed against the duke 
on such an accusation. However, she added : " As a 
proof of your royalty and good intentions for the future, I 
expect you to deliver up my fortress of Dumbarton, which 



io6 Alary Stuart. 

you have hitherto retained in spite of my repeated de- 
mands ; as it was the place named for my imprisonment, 
I shall not rest satisfied until it be delivered up to my 
authorities." 

The duke asked time to reflect ; and this was granted. 
The fact is that he was afraid to take so decided a step 
without consulting Queen Elizabeth ; so he sought an 
opportunity to speak to her ambassador, who advised him 
by all means to surrender the castle, since he had never 
had any other right to it than a verbal agreement with the 
late queen regent. 

Bothwell and Kilwinning were sent to the Castle of 
Edinburgh, there to await in prison the queen's pleasure ; 
for, although Arran's insanity was proved beyond a doubt, 
there were other sources of evidence against Bothwell ; 
and nothing could induce his sovereign to release him. 
But at the end of three months he contrived his escape, 
and went to his stronghold, Hermitage Castle. Not feel- 
ing safe there, he finally sought refuge in England. 

In the summer, Lethington, who had been to England, 
returned home with a letter from Queen Elizabeth to 
Mary, urging the latter to make her a visit. Mary was 
delighted ; for, surrounded as she was by treacherous 
counsellors, she had every reason for desiring to meet her 
nearest relative, whose protection would be of great value. 
She never suspected that Elizabeth had no real intention 
of allowing a rival so much younger and more beautiful 
than herself to appear at her court, particularly as that 
sovereign went so far in her deceitful professions of her 
desire to meet Mary as to make the following arrange- 
ments : The Queen of Scots was to be received at Ber- 
wick by three earls, who were to pay all her travelling 
expenses from the time she crossed the English border. 
On her approach to York, she was to be met by the Duke of 



1562. Mary Stuart. 107 

Norfolk, and conducted by him to his royal mistress, who 
proposed to receive her on the ^th of August, at South- 
well, a house of the Archbishop of York, whence they 
were to proceed together to Nottingham, there to pass a 
month in all sorts of pleasures. Mary eagerly began 
preparations for her journey, by writing to her nobles to 
convene at Edinburgh to attend her. It was specified, 
that, to save expense, nothing but black cloth or velvet 
was to be worn, her majesty not having yet taken off her 
widow's mourning. 

Meantime, Mary sent for Randolph, and showed him a 
picture of his sovereign, which Lethington had brought 
with the letter, asking whether it was a good likeness. 
" I trust your grace will shortly be the judge thereof," 
answered the ambassador, " and will find much more per- 
fection than could be set forth by the art of man." Mary 
rejoined that the greatest desire she had ever cherished 
was to see her good sister ; and that she trusted after they 
had met and spoken together, the greatest grief that 
would ever occur between them would be the pain of 
parting. A few days later, Elizabeth sent Sir Henry 
Sidney to express her regrets that their meeting could not 
take place that year, as, in consequence of the attitude 
assumed by the Catholic princes of France, Spain, and 
Italy, against the cause of the Reformation, it was 
necessary for her to remain in London. Mary was so 
deeply disappointed that she wept. However, she gra- 
ciously assented to Elizabeth's desire that she should 
postpone her visit until the following summer. 

Being disappointed of her visit to England, Mary 
decided on a progress through the northern part of her 
realm, and started on the nth of August, attended by 
her ladies. Lord James, many of his friends, her officers 
of state, and Randolph, the English ambassador. She 



io8 Maiy Stuart. 

slept at Linlithgow the first night, and on the morrow 
Lord Livingstone, brother of one of her Marys, was hon- 
ored with a visit, at Callander House, Stirling was 
reached the same evening ; and there the royal party 
rested until the i8th, hunting whenever the weather would 
permit, for this was a pastime of which the queen was 
exceedingly fond. She arrived at Old Aberdeen on the 
27th, and was received with the usual honors. The Earl 
and Countess of Huntley dutifully met her majesty, and 
invited her to stay at their house, where all the necessary 
preparations had been made ; but, as their son had given 
much cause for offence on several occasions, and had 
shown himself an enemy to the queen, she would not 
avail herself of their hospitality, but chose rather to go to 
the house of Sir William Leslie, the sheriff of the county, 
where she passed the night. 

On the loth of September, Mary arrived at Farnaway, 
the principal mansion of the earldom of Moray ; and here 
she sat in council, having ordered a summons to be 
served on Sir John Gordon to surrender his castles of 
Finlater and Auchindown. Here, too, her brother, Lord 
James, produced his patent for the earldom of Moray, and 
for the first time took his place by that title. It was 
partly with this object in view that he had brought his sov- 
ereign a long, tedious journey, in extremely cold weather, 
through bog and moor ; for his illegal proceeding needed 
the cloak of her authority. But this was only the begin- 
ning. Next day the new Earl of Moray conducted the 
queen and her train to Inverness, arriving in the evening. 
She presented herself before the castle gate, and de- 
manded its surrender. Lord Gordon, the heir of Huntley, 
was keeper ; and he was sheriff of Inverness as well. 
His deputy, Capt. Alexander Gordon, acknowledging no 
authority but that of his chief, refused to admit even the 



1562. Mary Stuart. 109 

sovereign, without his orders, though this was an overt 
act of treason. Mary, being thus repulsed from her 
own fortress, was compelled to lodge in the town. The 
next day the castle was forced to surrender by the country 
people, who flocked to their queen's assistance ; and the 
captain was hanged. 

A few days later the queen continued her journey 
through the heart of the Gordon country unmolested ; but 
when she stopped before Finlater House, one of Sir John 
Gordon's castles, she was refused admittance. This time 
she could only move on, because there were no cannon, as 
at Inverness, to force the castellan to surrender. It was 
part of Moray's game to crush the Earl of Huntley, whose 
power was the great barrier against his own ambitious 
designs ; he therefore poisoned Mary's mind against this 
protector of her infancy, as well as against Sir John 
Gordon and the Ogilvies, and made her play to the bitter 
end the part he had assigned her. 

The queen arrived at Old Aberdeen on the 22d of Sep- 
tember, and made her public entry into the new town the 
next day, being honorably received with pageants, plays, 
and addresses. She now provided herself with artillery 
and arms to be used in reducing the Earl of Huntley's 
castles ; but there was no need for them, for the unfortunate 
earl, anxious to escape the punishment that threatened 
him, sent the keys of Finlater and Deskford, and ordered 
them to be laid at the feet of her majesty. Acting by the 
advice of her premier, she refused them, saying she meant 
to reduce those castles by other means. The gentlemen 
who brought the keys were imprisoned, and Huntley 
was commanded to deliver up a cannon that had been 
in his possession many years, and bring it to a spot 
four miles from his castle. He obeyed and besought 
the queen's messenger to assure her majesty that not 



no Mary Stitart. 

only the cannon, but his goods, and even his body, were 
at her disposal. 

The queen sent Captain Stuart with a hundred and fifty 
soldiers to invest Finlater Castle. Sir John Gordon, 
Huntley's son, hearing of this, surprised them by night 
with a company of his followers, slew some, disarmed the 
rest, and captured the leader. Thereupon Huntley's arrest 
was ordered; but that earl was warned, and made his 
escape. His wife threw open the gates and invited all 
who came in the queen's name to enter and partake of 
her hospitality. They ate and drank, and searched the 
house, but not a treasonable paper or a warlike sign could 
be found. Huntley and his son John were summoned to 
appear before the queen and her council at Aberdeen, 
but, failing to do so, they were proclaimed rebels and 
traitors at the market-cross, with three blasts of her 
majesty's horn, according to the Scottish custom. 

Huntley now sent his wife to offer his submission to the 
queen, and to explain to her how she had been deceived 
by her advisers. Mary refused to see the countess. The 
earl then offered by special messenger to surrender him- 
self to be tried by his peers in Parliament, but not by his 
foes. His proposal was rejected. Goaded to desperation, 
he at last resolved to march against his sovereign at the 
head of five hundred armed men, chiefly his own tenants 
and servants. His intention was to surprise her at Aber- 
deen, but about twelve miles from that town he was 
stopped by the Earl of Moray, with two thousand soldiers, 
and forced to surrender. His sons. Sir John and Adam, 
who were with him, were captured also. The old earl 
died, without a word, just after he was placed on the horse 
in front of his captor. Whether he was seized with a 
stroke of apoplexy, or, as some historians have declared, 
was strangled by Mary's order, cannot be known. His 



1562. Mary Stuart. Ill 

body was carried on a rude bier to Aberdeen, and when 
his daughter, Lady Forbes, saw it lying on the stones in 
the Tolbooth prison, she reverently covered it with a piece 
of curtain, saying as she did so : " What stability is there 
in human things ? Here lieth he who, yesterday, was 
esteemed the richest, wisest, and greatest man in Scot- 
land." 

Sir John Gordon was paraded through the streets with 
ropes around his neck, like a common felon, and the queen 
shed tears when she saw him. This alarmed Moray, lest 
she might be induced to pardon the offender ; he therefore 
produced treasonable letters which he said had been 
found in the dead man's pockets, and brought one of 
Huntley's confidential servants to confess before the 
queen that his lord had intended to murder her and the 
Earl of Moray when they were at one of his castles. The 
ruin of the noble Gordons, root and branch, was now 
settled. 

On the 2d of November Sir John was found guilty of 
high treason, before the Justice Court of Aberdeen, and 
sentenced to lose his head. He was instantly hurried 
away to execution. The people showed so much interest 
in this handsome young nobleman that Moray insisted 
upon having the queen present at the execution. The 
scaffold was erected in front of the house where she 
lodged, and her chair of state in which she sat was placed 
at an open window. Gordon turned and looked straight 
at her, and she was so moved by this mute appeal that she 
burst into tears and sobbed hysterically ; yet she was pow- 
erless to save him, for Moray stood by her side, and she 
was a useless toy in his hands. Preparations for the exe- 
cution went on ; and just as the blow fell, the queen fainted, 
and was carried to her bed in a state of insensibility. 

Adam Gordon, a youth of seventeen, had been doomed 



112 Mary Stuart. 

to death also, but Mary positively forbade the sentence to 
be executed, and he lived to prove his gratitude to his royal 
mistress by many a gallant enterprise for her sake in the 
days of her adversity. Six gentlemen of the name of 
Gordon were hanged at Aberdeen on the day when Sir 
John was killed. The Earl of Morton, one of Moray's 
confederates, was now appointed Lord Chancellor of 
Scotland, in place of the Earl of Huntley. 

The queen went from Aberdeen to Montrose, where she 
was visited by the poet Chastellar, on whom she bestowed 
signal marks of favor. For the literary offerings he laid 
at her feet she gave him jewels, and, being something of a 
poet herself, she often responded in verse, thus exciting 
the vanity of the young man to no slight degree. Chas- 
tellar was a Huguenot gentleman of an ancient family of 
Dauphiny ; he was handsome, an excellent musician as 
well as a poet, and skilled in riding, tilting, and dancing. 
Mary allowed him to accompany her on the lute when she 
sang, and often selected him for her partner in the dance ; 
indeed, she seemed to enjoy his society so much that the 
envy of the Scottish nobles was aroused ; but, what was 
of far more importance, the young man himself began to 
entertain hopes that were the prelude of another tragedy 
that was to darken Mary's reign. 

At Dundee the queen was met by the Due de ChateU 
herault, who came to supplicate in behalf of his son-in-law, 
George, Lord Gordon, who, although he had taken abso- 
lutely no part in any revolt, was marked out for another 
victim by Moray. Mary decided that he should stand his 
trial, nevertheless, and ordered him to be lodged in Edin- 
burgh Castle with the Earl of Arran, who was still detained 
as a state prisoner, with the charge of high treason hang- 
ing over him. On the 21st of November the queen reached 
Edinburgh, and proceeded at once to Holyrood. 




DEATH OF GUISE. 



'S'^s- Mary Stuart. 115 

The following month Maty completed her twentieth 
year, and at her birthday celebration she danced, greatl}'' 
to the horror of John Knox, who preached a sermon 
denouncing such frivolity. Indeed, there were so many 
spies and busybodies in her household that all her say- 
ings and doings were reported, and, of course, wickedly 
exaggerated, to her enemies. Thus dancing became a 
crime, and the most innocent, thoughtless remark a sin of 
the deepest dye. 

[A. D. 1563.] While at St. Andrew's, this spring, the 
queen received the sad news of the death of her uncle, 
the Due de Guise, who had been assassinated by Poltrot. 
She was inconsolable, for she had loved her uncle Francis 
devotedly, and the thought that he had been murdered 
rendered the affliction very bitter. Whatever may have 
been the bigotry- and political offences of the Due de 
Guise, he was adored, not only by the members of his own 
family, but by his country, where his tragical death was 
deeply deplored. 

The Queen Regent of France, Catherine de Medicis, 
renewed her correspondence with her royal daughter-in- 
law on this occasion, for she was convinced by this time 
that Mary was not a person to be treated with disrespect. 
Indeed, this young sovereign had shown herself so wise 
in the neutral position she had maintained during the hos- 
tilities between France and England that she was regarded 
as a power of no little importance, and the sovereigns of 
both countries paid court to her. 

Mary had other matters to distress her besides the loss 
of a dearly beloved relative. One was the news that 
Bothwell, who was confined in Edinburgh Castle on a 
charge of treason, had made his escape, and had been 
sent for by Elizabeth to go to London. Mary beheld with 
uneasiness the prospect of a secret alliance between this 



ii6 Mary Stuart. 

influential nobleman and the English sovereign, because 
his estates were in that portion of Scotland most exposed 
to the danger of invasion from the old enemy. 

Another serious cause of trouble and mortification arose 
when her Roman Catholic subjects attempted to celebrate 
their Easter festival. Though the Reformation had been 
established in Scotland, at least a third of the people 
adhered to the old faith ; therefore it had not been con- 
sidered wise by the queen's Protestant cabinet to inflict 
the penalty of death against those who attended at the 
mass. But the brethren of the Congregation became im- 
patient of such tolerance, and determined to take the law 
in their own hands. Having arrested several priests, they 
announced their intention to inflict upon them the ven- 
geance appointed by God's law against idolaters, without 
regard either to the queen or her council. Of course 
Mary was very angry at this, but she was not strong 
enough to combat it ; she therefore condescended to try 
her powers of persuasion on John Knox, whom she ordered 
to come to her at Lochleven, where she then was, on the 
13th of April. She talked to him steadily for two hours 
before supper, and begged him to persuade the people not 
to proceed to extremities with their fellow-subjects who 
desired to worship as they thought best. Knox told her 
that it was her duty to punish malefactors, and added, " If 
you thilik to elude the laws enacted for that object, I fear 
there be some who will let the Papists understand that 
they will not be allowed to offend God's majesty without 
punishment." "Will you allow that they shall take my 
sword in their hand ? " asked Mary. The reformer cited 
in reply the slaying of Agag by Samuel, and of Jezebel's 
false prophets by Elijah, and the queen was so disgusted 
at his thus perverting the facts of Scripture as a warrant 
for cruelty and persecution that she left him. Unsatis- 



1563- Mary Stuart. wj 

factory though the conference had been, Mary sent a mes- 
senger at sunrise next morning to summon Knox to meet 
her at the hawking, west of Kinross. She was most 
gracious to him, and made no allusion whatever to any 
cause of dispute between them, hoping to gain his good 
will. But she had her labor for her pains, for he despised 
her sex and would not acknowledge her authority. In 
confidence she expressed her regret that Lord Ruthven 
had been appointed a member of her privy council, a 
measure for which she blamed Lethington, her secretary 
of state ; for, from the moment she laid eyes on that 
nobleman, she felt for him an intuitive antipathy that 
nothing could dispel. 

Mary next spoke to the reformer about the trouble 
between the Countess of Argyll and her husband, and 
begged him to use his influence in bringing about a recon- 
ciliation and preventing the contemplated divorce. " And 
now, as touching our reasoning yesternight," she continued, 
" I promise to do as required ; I shall cause all offenders 
to be summoned, and you shall see that I will administer 
justice." At this interview she presented the reformer 
with a small watch in a crystal case as a pledge of 
friendship. 

After an absence of nearly five months, the queen re- 
turned to Edinburgh to meet her Parliament. Business 
of a stormy and trying nature awaited her ; for, being of 
a different religion from the majority of her subjects, pol- 
icy compelled her to act contrary to the dictates of her 
conscience, and she was called upon to sanction decrees 
of which she did not approve. The Archbishop of St. 
Andrew's, and several other dignitaries of the Romish 
church, had been imprisoned for saying mass in the 
woods, mountain glens, and barns, and Mary dared not 
pardon them, because she had sworn, on her return to 



ii8 Mary Stuart. 

Scotland, not to encourage any other religion than the 
one she had found established there. She was required, 
too, by her base brother, the Earl of Moray, to put the 
finishing stroke to the ruin of the noble house of Gordon, 
by confiscating the estates, which were divided among the 
members of her court and cabinet. The Earl of Suther- 
land was attainted, also, because of some letters — forger- 
ies of Moray's — which were said to have been found on 
the person of the late Earl of Huntley. The accused 
stoutly protested his innocence, no doubt with truth, but 
he could not be heard. Neither could the .'Countesses 
of Sutherland and Huntley, who went to Edinburgh to 
petition the queen for justice. They were not allowed 
access to her majesty, nor were they permitted to employ 
counsel to reply to the charges against their husbands, 
with the hope of saving something to keep their children 
from starvation. 

On the 26th of May, the queen proceeded to the Tol- 
booth to open her Parliament for the first time since her 
infant coronation. She laid aside her mourning for that 
occasion, and appeared in gorgeous royal robes, sur- 
rounded by a glittering train of the ladies of her house- 
hold, all of whom, as well as those who crowded the 
galleries of Parliament Hall, were in full dress. The 
Due de Chatelherault bore the crown before her in the 
equestrian procession, the Earl of Agyll the sceptre, and 
Moray carried the sword. Among all the ladies who at- 
tended her, Mary was the most prominent for beauty and 
grace, the following proverbial expression applying to her 
perfectly : " The fairest rose in Scotland grows on the 
loftiest bough." 

A report had got wind that the queen had forgotten her 
native tongue, or that she disdained to use it; therefore 
the majority of the auditors who filled the hall expected a 



1563- Maty Stuart. 119 

Latin or French oration, of which they would not compre- 
hend a single word. When they heard the royal lady ad- 
dress them in a fluent, eloquent speech, which was all the 
prettier for the slight foreign accent, the hall rang with 
their applause, and loud cries of " God save that sweet face ! 
was there ever an orator spake so properly or so sweetly ? " 
This genuine outburst was most gratifying to the royal 
lady, but it displeased Knox, whose hostility to her, and 
contempt of her sex, he thus expresses, " Such striking 
pride of women as was seen at the Parliament was never 
before seen in Scotland." The ladies got the better of 
the preachers on this occasion in the matter of costume, 
for Knox and the others inveighed against fine dresses to 
such an extent that, had it not been for the powerful sup- 
port of the Earl of Moray, Parliament Hall would have 
looked like a convent with the ladies in plain hoods and 
frocks. But the Countess of Moray owned superb jewels, 
which she was determined to display, and she supported 
Queen Mary in her preference for fine French costumes. 
Knox, in his customary uncharitable manner, imputed un- 
worthy motives to his old friend and pupil, and sarcas- 
tically remarked, " The earldom of Moray needs confirm- 
ing, and many other things that require the help of friends 
and servants ; therefore he will not urge the queen to any- 
thing distasteful, for if he did she would hold no Parlia- 
ment, and then what would become of them that aided in 
the slaughter of Huntley ? " This was a taunt that plainly 
indicated the foul play practised by Moray in that busi- 
ness. It stung deeply, and, in consequence, scarcely a 
word was exchanged between the two for more than a 
year and a half. 

The attention of Mary's friends, foes, and rivals was 
again occupied with her matrimonial affairs. Philip H. 
of Spain wanted to marry her to his heir, Don Carlos, a 



120 Mary Stuart. 

bad-tempered, sickly epileptic three years her junior. 
This alliance Queen Elizabeth and Catherine de Medicis 
opposed with all their might, for political reasons, and the 
latter began to manoeuvre for a marriage between Mary 
and the emperor's third son, the Archduke Charles, a 
brave, accomplished gentleman, in all respects a more 
suitable consort than Don Carlos, The emperor himself 
was so desirous that this union should take place that he 
offered the noble dowry of the Tyrol, and an annual in- 
come of four hundred thousand francs, to Mary, if she 
would consent. Philip, on the other hand, who was in 
private correspondence with her, was so anxious to secure 
for his unfortunare son a spouse who could hide his defi- 
ciencies as she had done those of Francis, sent his envoy, 
Don Luis de Paz, to conclude, if possible, a treaty with 
Mary herself. 

Mary was luxurious in her habits ; though a small eater, 
she liked her table to be amply supplied and daintily 
laid. Her table-cloths and napkins were of the finest 
quality, fringed and embroidered with bullion and colored 
silks, and she introduced the fashion of having the claws 
and beaks of the roasted partridges and fowl that were 
served at her dinner silvered or gilded. It was her habit 
to rise early in the morning, and while walking in the 
garden, before breakfast, she transacted a great deal of 
business. She was fond of flowers, and introduced into 
the gardens of her country palaces, some of the rarest 
exotics, fruits, and vegetables, rarely visiting a strange 
place without planting something with her own hands. 
She was fond of pets of all kinds, but especially of dogs 
and birds, and she doted on children. Her ladies were 
treated with the utmost courtesy and kindness ; there is 
not a single instance on record of ill-nature, envy, or tyr- 
anny on her part towards any member of her own sex. 




PHILIP II. OF SPAIN. 



1563- Mary Stuart. 123 

In June, Queen Mary left Edinburgh for a couple of 
months, and travelled through the beautiful lake and 
mountain scenery of her realm, going from one noble- 
man's castle to another on horseback, and enjoying the 
country sports, in which she delighted. She returned 
wonderfully improved in health and spirits, and, after 
spending a week in the metropolis, withdrew to Stirling 
Castle. 



CHAPTER V. 

[A.D.I 563.] Randolph, the English ambassador, visited 
his own court during the absence of Queen Mary in this 
summer of 1563, and seconded Queen Elizabeth in her 
intrigue for beguiling the Queen of Scots into a marriage 
with Lord Robert Dudley. He did not return to Edin- 
burgh until December, when, although ill in bed, the queen 
consented to see him, because she understood that he 
was charged with private letters from Elizabeth, and the 
gift of a fine diamond which he was desirous of delivering 
in person. She was much pleased with the letters and 
the ring, which she placed upon her finger, but she was 
not well enough to converse long with Randolph. She 
was suffering from a low nervous fever, and her attempts 
to exert herself to receive her ministers, who held their 
cabinet councils in her bedroom, and to give audience to 
ambassadors from foreign courts, so aggravated her dis- 
ease that her physicians feared for her life. 

Yet, in the midst of her illness, she was called upon to 
perform a most important duty. Two members of Knox's 
congregation having been arrested and thrown into prison, 
for raising a riot in the Chapel Royal at Holyrood, to pre- 
vent the service from being performed there during the 
queen's absence, Knox wrote a letter exhorting the 
brethren in all parts of Scotland to convene in Edinburgh 
on the day appointed for the trial of the offenders — in 
other words, to excite a tumult, and probably rekindle 
the horrors of religious warfare. Great excitement pre- 

124 



1563- Mary Stuart. 125 

vailed, and Knox was summoned to appear before the 
council to answer for his conduct. Poor Mary, suffering 
though she was, had to leave her sick-bed to appear 
among a set of wrangling statesmen — pitiless traitors for 
the most part — and was compelled by her ministers to 
take upon herself the unpopular responsibility of calling 
to account the most formidable man in her kingdom, for 
exciting an insurrection, while his followers crowded about 
the doors, ready to burst in upon her at a moment's notice. 

Knox came off triumphant, for when the question was 
put to the vote, whether or not he was guilty of offending 
her majesty, the lords decided that he was not. 

A week later, Mary was still confined to her bed, but 
this did not prevent her from hearing the consultations of 
her ministers, for they met in her chamber, and never took 
the trouble to procure for her the repose so necessary to 
an invalid. Randolph gives evidence of this in one of his 
letters to Cecil thus : " I had warning to come to court 
after dinner, and I found in her grace's chamber, besides 
ladies and gentlemen, many of her grace's council, herself 
keeping her bed, and talking with the Earl of Moray and 
Lord Lethington." The object of the ambassador's visit 
was to ascertain her views at that time regarding the suit 
of Archduke Charles. Among Mary's numerous suitors 
there was not one of whom Elizabeth approved, and she 
was especially jealous of the archduke, because he had 
once aspired to her own hand. Mary never failed to con- 
sult the English sovereign with regard to every offer, after 
she had determined not to accept ; it was therefore easy 
for her to appear dutifully satisfied with the objections 
that were sure to proceed from that quarter. With regard 
to Archduke Charles, Elizabeth wrote : " This is a match 
which I have weighty political reasons for opposing, but 
if, instead of marrying a foreign prince, you will consent to 



126 Mary SUtart. 

accept a consort of my selecting, I will adopt you as a 
daughter, and gratify you in anything you can reasonably 
demand." 

As the object of Mary's ambition was to obtain formal 
recognition to the crown of England, she was willing to 
curry favor with Elizabeth by giving up the archduke and 
her whole train of royal suitors, but she was somewhat 
curious as to what selection her English majesty would 
make for her. She suspected that it was Henry, Lord 
Darnley, particularly when Randolph said to her: "Her 
majesty, my mistress, thinks that none fitter can be found 
than some nobleman of her realm, who, besides the many 
virtues that may be found in him, would also have a 
special desire to unite the two countries, and to live in 
perpetual peace and concord." 

" I assure you," replied Mary, " the queen, my good 
sister, is not more willing to continife friendly than I am ; 
and if we had so well known one another as now we do, I 
think the matter had been beyond doubt. Touching her 
desire of my marriage, I may conceive more than in plain 
terms your mistress would signify, or you care to utter ; 
but what the world will think of it, I know not." The 
subtle diplomatist rejoined : " He that ruleth all his 
actions by the judgment of the world doth not most 
commonly rule himself best." He then spoke disparag- 
ingly of the queen's late marriage, and told her that it 
had been the greatest inconvenience for her realm, which 
would in time have fallen into hands unfit to govern. 
This displeased her so much that she dismissed the 
ambassador, and told him that she would postpone the 
conversation, whereupon he took his leave, but merely 
withdrew to the background, without quitting the room. 

Mary then called the Earl of Argyll to her bedside, and, 
after conversing with him in a low tone, said : " Randolph 



^5^4- Mary Stuart. 127 

would have me marry in England," to which he merrily 
rejoined: "What! is the Queen of England become a 
man ? " Without noticing this jest, Mary asked, "Who is 
there in that country you would wish me to marry ? " 
"Whom your grace would like the best," was the answer; 
" I only wish there were as noble a man there as you 
could like." Her majesty continued the conversation 
until the earl perceived that she was disposed to favor 
Lord Darnley ; and when he withdrew, he repeated all 
she had said to Randolph, for he was one of the spies 
interested in her marriage. The courtiers were very 
curious to learn of Randolph who was really the English 
nobleman intended for their queen, some guessing Darn- 
ley, some the Earl of Warwick, but none suspecting that 
it could be Lord Robert Dudley " except the very few to 
whom I dare safely and freely talk," writes the ambassa- 
dor to Cecil. Among the chosen few was the Earl of 
Moray, who favored the match with this profligate minion 
of Elizabeth, simply because she delighted to do him 
honor ; but he had not the courage to communicate it to 
his royal sister, much less to recommend it to her. 

[A.D. 1564.] Queen Mary was well enough on New 
Year's Day to invite Randolph to dine with her, and on 
Twelfth Day she gave a brilliant entertainment and ball, 
and introduced the amusing French game called the feast 
of the bean. The bean was concealed in a large cake, 
and whoever got it was treated as sovereign for that 
night. On this occasion Mary Fleming was the lucky 
winner of the prize, and her royal mistress carried out 
the frolic by arraying her in her own regal robes, and 
decorating her with her costliest jewels, wearing none 
herself that evening, that the Queen of the Bean might 
shine peerless. Her costume was white and black, for 
she had not yet removed her mourning. A miniature 



'V 



128 Mary Stuart. 

painted of her at this time, which still exists in Scotland, 
represents her in a black dress trimmed with white ; her 
head-dress is a shovel-shaped black hood, flat and spread 
"^ out in front, and descending from the ears, like a stiff 
slanting frame, on each side of the throat ; over this a 
black veil is thrown back. She seems to be about 
twenty-one years of age ; her expression is sad, but 
lovely ; her complexion pale and clear ; eyes, dark hazel. 
Her bright chestnut colored hair is drawn back in 
Madonna bands across her broad brow, and braids slope 
down towards the cheeks. The contour of the face is 
oval. The figured damask gown is slashed on the breast 
and sleeves, and edged around the openings with white 
fur, which also encircles her throat. The picture is oval 
and very small, and around the edge of the deep blue 
background is inscribed " Maria Regina Scotorum " in 
gold letters. It was painted by Catharine da Costa, the 
first female artist whose name appears on a royal por- 
trait. 

At the conclusion of the holiday festivities there was a 
season of peace, when the nobles departed for their respec- 
tive homes. The intrigues for forcing the queen into an 
unworthy marriage continued, and as her request to be 
informed of the name of the person whom her "good 
sister " had kindly selected for her consort remained 
unanswered, she concluded that it was because of Lord 
Darnley's youth. At last the mystery was penetrated by 
the French minister resident at the English court, and 
Mary received a letter from her uncle, Cardinal de Guise, 
written by the desire of her mother-in-law, warning her of 
the alliance that was being planned for her. 

Aware that it was the policy of the French court to 
break all friendly relations between her and the English 
sovereign, Mary would not believe anything so improba- 



^564- Mary Stuart. 129 

ble, but continued to listen to Randolph's flattering prom- 
ises, and to express unbounded confidence in the good 
intentions of his royal mistress. Meanwhile, even the 
Scotch confederates themselves were puzzled to under- 
stand why Elizabeth, who was without doubt in love 
with Lord Robert Dudley herself, should be willing to 
bestow him on their beautiful young queen. Mary often 
told Randolph that she had no desire to marry at all, and 
there was so much affection existing between her and her 
four Marys, that they had made a vow never to enter the 
bonds of matrimony unless she set them the example. 

When it became evident that a matrimonial treaty was 
contemplated, many of Mary's faithful subjects were grati- 
fied because they felt sure that Lord Darnley was the 
object of Randolph's secret instructions ; and as he was 
the first prince of the blood royal of the Tudor line, there 
would be nobody in the event of this union to contest their 
queen's claims to the crown of England when Elizabeth 
should die. Mary herself saw the advantages of such an 
alliance, and was perfectly willing to resign all other suit- 
ors in exchange for Darnley ; for she could not believe 
that any other English subject would be offered to her. 

The queen regent of France, finding her hints of Eliza- 
beth's perfidy disregarded, began to court her daughter-in- 
law with professions of affection, of which she gave tangible 
proofs by sending her the arrears of her dowry pension, 
and offering all the wines for her household free of duty. 
She promised besides to grant Scotch merchants all the 
privileges they had formerly received from France and to 
appoint Lord Robert Stuart captain of the Scotch Archer 
Guard. But Mary could not be bribed into violating the 
strict neutrality she had observed in the contest between 
France and England ; no doubt her sympathies were with 
France, but her actions were, in every case, prompted by 



130 Mary Stuart. 

the wishes of her subjects. It was, however, impossible 
for her ever to do right in the eyes of the party whom she 
desired to please, and they blamed her for matters over 
which she had no control. The members of her cabinet 
were to all appearances leaders of the Congregation, but, 
instead of working in the interest of their pastors, their 
sole object was to enrich themselves, and they got posses- 
sion of the best church lands which the crown held as 
trustee for the benefit of their own ministers. Thus every 
ill-paid and unpaid divine of the Reformed Congregation 
looked with indignation at the court festivities, and hurled 
maledictions on the head of the queen for lavish expendi- 
ture of money which ought to have been theirs, without 
considering that it was their own leaders who were robbing 
them. 

The entertainments at court just before Lent were more 
than ordinarily brilliant, because the queen was anxious to 
establish good will among her ministers, and thus preserve 
the tranquillity of her realm. But she was far from happy 
for the Earl of Moray had become reconciled to John 
Knox during her illness, and had been his champion when 
he appeared for trial before the council. This, added to a 
demand that the rites of her church should no longer be 
performed in her chapel, offended Mary so much that she 
offered to resign her position to her jDrime minister, com- 
manding him to take the thankless burden of state on his 
own shoulders. This was the desire of his soul, the sole 
object of his intriguing and treachery ; but the time had 
not yet come for its accomplishment, his arrangements 
were not completed. Mary was still the idol of her peo- 
ple ; they loved her for herself, and respected her for her 
virtues ; she must be deprived of their affection and made 
to appear a criminal of the deepest dye before another 
would be tolerated in her place. So Moray rejected her 



1564. Mary Stuart. 13 1 

offer and ?sked permission to retire to his estates in Fife- 
shire. MarV granted him leave of absence for a week ; he 
was o-one twentv-one days, during which he incurred sus- 
picion by meetino- the Earl of Argyll at Castle Campbell. 
Then a report was brOught to the queen that he had gone 
to England, but this turned out to be false, and she 
reproached herself for having suspected one who had 
proved himself loyal and true b, refusing the crown she 
had offered him. How often, in >-ter years, must the 
poor deluded queen have wondered at n *" uvYP, blindness 
and credulity when she recalled the moves of her brt?ther 
rival in the fine game he was playing. 

True to her generous nature, Mary was the first to seek 
a reconciliation with Moray when she reasoned herself 
into the belief that she had wronged him. Without wait- 
ing for him to sue for pardon, she sent him a gracious 
invitation to return to his place in her affections and her 
councils. It suited him to accept, and his re-appearance 
at court was celebrated with fetes and merrymakings, to 
which all the nobles were invited, whether they had sided 
with her or him in the late quarrel. But these political 
reunions did not suit the ideas of the English sovereign, 
and those in her secret service made it a point to impute 
some wicked motive to even the wisest and best of Mary's 
actions. 

There were no satisfactory results from these feasts in 
consequence, and the reconciliation between Moray and 
his royal sister was said to be not genuine. He assumed 
a defensive attitude, and told his partisans that he ex- 
pected to be arrested and sent to prison ; while, on the 
other hand, fear was entertained by the nation lest the 
queen, who had expressed herself weary of the thankless 
responsibilities of her vocation, would withdraw to France 
and abandon Scotland entirely. Her offer to resign the 



132 Mary Stiiaj't. 

government to Moray had given alarm, arwith good 
reason, for under her sway the people harhown peace, 
and if she deserted them nothing but il war between 
Moray, the Hamiltons, and the Lennotuarts could result. 
The anxious state of the public m is thus described by 
Randolph : " Her grace wepil Monday last to Dunbar, 
with only a few in attecmce. Immediately there came 
a report that two shinad arrived there that night, and 
either that they horought some noblemen from France, 
or that tl^jii^en, out of spite against this country, was 
?.% away in them. The next day there came news that 
one of the two ships, laden with artillery, had come to 
Scotland, and that the other had been captured by the 
English. That night, being Wednesday, sudden warning 
was given to all my Lord of Moray's servants and friends 
in this town to ride out and to lodge themselves in towns 
and houses about Dunbar, for that Lord Bothwell had 
come, with many horses, to speak with the queen secretly, 
and Lord Moray, being without any company, might, per- 
chance, have fallen into danger." 

These agitating rumors, to which was added one that 
the French were coming to cut Protestant throats, were 
evidently circulated by Moray to sound the tocsin of 
revolt against the queen ; but as no circumstance had as 
yet occurred whereby a single action of hers could be 
twisted so as to coincide with the calumnies which had 
begun to be directed against her, the poisoned shafts fell 
to the ground. Moray's object was to feel the national 
pulse, in order to ascertain his own standing. 

The real estimation in which the queen was held at this 
period, not only in Scotland, but throughout Europe, may 
be gathered from the following testimony of that accom- 
plished statesman, De Castelnau, who visited her court, 
■with propositions for an alliance with Henry, Due 



^•v^ 




HENRY III. 



1564- Mary Stuart. 135 

d'Anjou, afterwards Henry III. of France. He says: 
" When I arrived in Scotland, I found this royal lady in 
the flower of her age, esteemed and adored by her sub- 
jects, and in great request by all her neighbors, not only 
on account of her high rank and connections, and pros- 
pects of being the successor of the Queen of England, but 
because she was endowed with greater charms than any 
other princess of her time. As I had the honor to be 
very well known to her, inasmuch as sItc had been our 
queen, and I had been one of her own servants in 
France, and had accompanied her to Scotland, I had 
freer access to her majesty than those to whom she had 
been less accustomed. She told me of the suit that 
had been made to her by different princes, and that 
some of her subjects wished her to wed the Prince de 
Conde. This, she observed, might be the means of 
uniting the House of Bourbon to a better understanding 
with that of Lorraine ; yet she felt no desire to encourage 
his proposal. There was another match, greater than any 
other, she said ; namely, Don Carlos of Spain. Then I 
suggested to her how she might return to France if she 
were to marry the Due d'Anjou, brother to the king. 
She replied that in truth no country was so near to her 
heart as France, where she had been nurtured, and of 
which she had had the honor of sharing the throne ; but 
she could not say she would like to return there in an 
inferior position to that she formerly occupied, and 
perhaps at the risk of losing her realm of Scotland, which 
'had been greatly shaken, and her subjects much divided, 
during her absence. If she could be sure, she added, 
that the Prince of Spain would live to inherit all the 
dominions of his father, and would pass into Flanders, 
and follow up his proposal, she knew not what she might 
be induced to do with regard to him." It surprises one 



136 Mary Stuart. * 

to note the perfect indifference with which the beautiful 
Queen of Scotland discusses her various suitors with an 
old servant ; but she was by no means indifferent when 
the name of the person whom Elizabeth had chosen for 
her was revealed. It was Randolph who had this duty to 
perform ; and he expected an outburst of scornful indig- 
nation when he offered the insult in the name of his royal 
mistress. " She bore it with patience," was his report ; 
" and when her answer was required, she coldly said, ' I 
must defer my resolution, being wholly taken by surprise.' 
I begged her to consider the necessity of coming to a 
speedy conclusion on a subject of such importance. 
'Your mistress,' she observed, 'hath been somewhat 
longer in deciding than I have been. She hath coun- 
selled me to have regard to three points in my choice, 
the principal of which is honor. Now, think you. Master 
Randolph, it would be honorable in me to debase my 
state by marrying her subject .'' ' ' Yes,' I replied, ' for, 
by means of him, your majesty is likely to inherit a 
kingdom.' 'Where is my assurance of that?' she asked. 
'May not my sister marry, and have children herself? 
What then shall I have gained by this marriage ; and who 
will justify me if I enter into it on so sudden a proposal, 
without due consideration ? I would not willingly dis- 
trust your mistress ; but the adventure is too great. Is it 
conformable with her promise to use me as her sister or 
her daughter, and then marry me to her subject ? ' " 

Randolph spoke of the advantages of such an alliance, 
and said it was an evidence of Elizabeth's affection. " I 
take it rather as a proof of her good will than her sin- 
cerity," was Mary's sharp rejoinder, " seeing that she has 
so much regard for himself that it is said she cannot well 
spare him." Randolph begged her to advise with Moray 
and Lethington, of whose influence he was sure in the 



1564- Mary Stuart. 137 

matter. She did so the same evening, at supper, and 
consented to a conference at Berwick between Queen 
Elizabeth's commissioners and her own. She had no 
intention of marrying Dudley ; but she humored the 
farce, hoping by this policy to obtain recognition as law- 
ful heiress to the crown of England through his influence 
with Elizabeth, The emperor was still a suitor for his son, 
the archduke ; and secret negotiations for Mary's marriage 
with Don Carlos were continued. Meanwhile, in steps 
the Countess of Lennox with her son, Lord Darnley, 
whom she offers in marriage to his royal cousin. This 
prince had been educated by his mother in the church of 
Rome. He was handsome, learned, and accomplished, 
and he excelled in all the courtly exercises of the age, 
Mary herself declares that this proposal was only the 
renewal of a suit which had been previously made to her, 
in behalf of her young kinsman, by her aunt of Lennox, 
and which she therefore considered herself bound to 
entertain favorably ; and that she was strongly urged to 
accept it by the Earl of Athol, Lord Lindsay, the Stuarts, 
and all her Catholic subjects. 

Mary visited Lochleven this spring, and spent several 
weeks at Perth, where she received Sir James Melville, on 
his return from England, This ambassador informed her 
that the new emperor, Maximilian, intended to prevent 
her marriage either with his brother, the archduke, or Don 
Carlos of Spain, because both were opposed to his inter- 
ests ; also, that Queen Elizabeth had made overtures for a 
renewal of the matrimonial treaty between herself and the 
said archduke. Mary was naturally indignant at this 
piece of news, not that she desired to marry the Archduke 
Charles, but that she saw how she had been made the 
dupe of an artful rival in this matter. 

At an assembly of the church, which took place in June. 



138 Mary Stuart. 

Lethington took Knox to task for calling the queen, from 
the pulpit, " a slave of Satan." The loyal part of those 
present declared that such violent language could do no 
good ; and the master of Maxwell, who was a sincere 
reformer, said in plain words, " If I were in the queen's 
place, I would not suffer such things as I hear." Knox 
defended himself thus : " The most vehement, and, as ye 
speak, excessive, manner of prayer I use in public is this, 
' O Lord, if thy pleasure be, purge the heart of the queen's 
majesty from the venom of idolatry, and deliver her from 
the bondage of Satan in which she hath been brought up, 
and yet remains for lack of true doctrine.' " Lethington 
asked where he found the example for that sort of prayer, 
and told him he was raising doubts of the queen's conver- 
sion. " Not I, my lord," replied Knox, " but her own 
obstinate rebellion." " Wherein rebels she against God ? " 
" In every action of her life," retorted Knox, " but in these 
two heads especially, — that she will not hear the preach- 
ing of the blessed evangel of Jesus Christ ; and that she 
maintains the idol at mass." " She does not think that 
rebellion, but good religion," replied Lethington ; " why 
do you say that she refuses admonition ? She will gladly 
hear any man." " When will she be seen to give her 
presence to the public preachings .-' " asked Knox. " I 
think never, as long as she is thus entreated," returned 
Lethington. A lengthened dispute followed as to whether 
the queen should be permitted to enjoy the liberty of her 
private worship, Knox protesting that she should not. At 
length, it was decided to refer the decision to Calvin ; but, 
as Knox objected to this manner of settling the dispute, 
the assembly broke up without arriving at any conclusion. 
The queen returned to the metropolis in the beginning 
of June, and, after transacting her business for the season, 
departed, with her retinue, for the Highlands, determined 




CALVIN. 



1564- Mary Stuart. 141 

to go as far as the most northerly part of her dominion. 
She had the good sense to visit, at one time or another, 
every district of Scotland, thus making herself thoroughly 
acquainted with the condition of her people ; and every- 
where she went she was admired and beloved. She was 
present at the great hunts in Athol, where two thousand 
Highlanders had been employed to sweep the game from 
the woods and mountains of the neighborhood ; and she 
had the satisfaction of being in at the death of five wolves, 
the last survivors of those savage beasts that had terrified 
the shepherds and lassies of those wild districts. No less 
than three hundred, and thirty-six deer were slain during 
this royal hunt. Hawks were brought to her majesty from 
the Isle of Skye, and those who presented them were 
liberally rewarded. She was not occupied all the time 
with amusements ; for she held courts of justice, and 
listened attentively to every case of wrong and suffering 
reported by the advocate of the poor ; she gave receptions 
to those ladies who were unable to undertake a journey to 
Edinburgh for the purpose of paying their homage to her 
at Holyrood ; and she proclaimed a musical, offering her 
own favorite harp as the prize to the best performer. The 
fair Beatrice Gardyn, of Banchory, in Aberdeenshire, was 
the fortunate winner ; for her majesty decided that she 
displayed more taste and skill in her playing and sang 
better even than her own musicians, not excepting David 
Riccio. She was charmed with the melodies of Scotland, 
which she pronounced superior to those of France ; and 
when she heard a Scotch ballad from the lips of the 
sweet-voiced lassie, she hailed her young subject as the 
Queen of Song, and presented her with the harp, with 
these words, " You alone are worthy to possess the instru- 
ment you touch so well." This harp is still preserved by 
the descendants of Beatrice Gardyn, at Lude. It origi- 



142 Mary Stuart. 

nally bore a portrait of Queen Mary, and the arms of Scot- 
land in solid gold, studded with gems, two of which were 
considered of great value; but thgse were stolen during 
the civil wars. 

While Mary was thus winning her way to the hearts of 
her subjects in the north, negotiations for her marriage 
with Lord Robert Dudley proceeded slowly. Randolph 
had seen with what disdain she regarded so unworthy a 
mate, and neither he nor any one else supposed that 
Elizabeth would consent, when it came to the point, to 
resign her favorite. Indeed, the ambassador actually took 
the liberty to inquire of her whether, in case the Queen of 
Scotland could be induced to receive the Lord Robert for 
her consort, her majesty meant not to consider such acqui- 
escence a sufficient warrant for marrying him herself, 

Elizabeth's answer was probably not given in writing, 
for there is no record of it, and her motive for desiring a 
union between Dudley and Mary, if she really was serious 
in the matter, will remain forever a mystery. While her 
anxiety was at its height, on account of the intrigues for 
forcing her into wedlock, Mary Stuart recalled the Earl 
of Lennox to Scotland, a decisive step on her part towards 
settling the matter herself. Elizabeth was so displeased 
at this that she wrote Mary to withdraw her permission, on 
the ground that the earl was now one of her subjects, 
Mary used certain expressions in her reply which were 
so displeasing to the English sovereign that a coolness 
resulted ; and the two queens ceased to correspond with 
each other, excepting when affairs of state required the 
interchange of letters. 

Lady Lennox was so desirous of marrying her son. 
Lord Darnley, to the Queen of Scotland, thus to unite 
their claims to the English crown, that she wrote most 
urgently on the subject ; and Mary, though well disposed 



1564- Mary Stuart. 143 

towards this marriage, entirely misled Elizabeth by pre- 
tending to prefer Don Carlos. The consequence was 
that, with the hope of preventing the Spanish alliance, the 
sovereign of England not only granted Lennox permission 
to go to Edinburgh, but gave him besides a letter to Mary, 
interceding for his pardon, and the restoration of his es- 
tates. So, after an exile of twenty years, the earl arrived 
in Scotland ; the queen had not yet returned from her 
northern tour. 

As soon as she heard of the presence of Lennox in her 
kingdom, she summoned him to appear before her, and 
the day after she reached Holyrood, he rode in state to 
the abbey, preceded by twelve gentlemen on horseback, 
clothed in velvet coats. Thirty other mounted gentlemen 
followed, in gray livery coats ; and the entire party en- 
tered the house of Lord Robert Stuart, who was then 
serving as bishop, apartments in this house having been 
prepared for them. The queen, who was holding a special 
court, sent a deputation of her officers of state to conduct 
the earl to her presence, and she welcomed him warmly, 
traitor though he had been, because he was the husband 
of her aunt. Fears were expressed by some of the lords 
lest the Protestant religion might suffer on account of the 
return of Lennox, but he calmed them by frequently at- 
tending the preachings. 

Randolph wrote to England at this period : " Lord 
Lennox's cheer is great, and his household is numerous, 
though he hath discharged part of his train. He findeth 
occasion to spend money very fast, and of the seven hun- 
dred pounds he brought with him, I am sure not much is 
left. He gave to the queen a marvellous rich and fine 
jewel, a clock and a dial, curiously wrought, and set with 
stones, and a looking-glass richly set with stones of vari- 
ous colors. To my Lord of Lethington, he has given a 



144 Mary Stuart. 

fine diamond ring ; to my Lord of Athol another, and 
also something fine to his wife — I Icnow not what, and 
valuable things to others, but to Moray nothing. He pre- 
sented each of the Marys with beautiful gifts ; these are 
his means for winning his way to all hearts, for reasons of 
his own. It is reported that Lady Lennox herself and 
Lord Darnley are coming, and some have asked me if 
she be not already on the way. I find that there is here 
much fondness for the young lord, and that many desire 
him to come." 

Lord Chancellor Morton was not one of these, for his 
own interest was at stake ; neither was the Due de Chatel- 
herault, who, at first, absolutely refused to meet Lennox, 
excepting in the presence of the queen, whose authority 
alone prevented an open act of violence. However, a 
reconciliation was finally effected, and the two noblemen 
shook hands and drowned their quarrel in the bowl, ac- 
cording to the Scottish custom ; but within the week, 
Mary had to interpose to restrain them from abusing each 
other, when she assured them that she should take part 
against the one who would presume to enter first into a 
fresh strife. The duke opposed the restoration of Len- 
nox's estates, and declared that the return of that traitor 
would be followed by evil consequences, both to the queen 
and her realm. Mary, whose policy it was to convert foes 
into friends, convened a Parliament for the express pur- 
pose of restoring to the earl his honors and estates. On 
this occasion the Earl of Moray bore the crown before the 
queen, because Chatelherault refused to be present ; the 
Earl of Athol, the sceptre, and the Earl of Crawford, 
the sword of state. Her majesty made a speech from the 
throne, declaring her gracious intention, and added : " I 
am the more disposed to exercise clemency in this matter, 
because of the solicitations of the Queen of England in 



1564- Mary Stuart. 14S 

behalf of the Earl of Lennox." She was seconded by 
her secretary of state, Lethington, who set forth the de- 
scent of Lennox from the royal house, and his relation to 
the queen by his marriage with her aunt Margaret, her 
father's sister. He also alluded to the wisdom of paying 
attention to the recommendation of Queen Elizabeth, and 
laid some stress on the desire of Mary to pity the decay 
of noble houses, adding : " We have heard from our sov- 
ereign's own report that she has a great deal more pleasure 
in upholding the ancient blood than in ministering to the 
decay or overthrow of any good race." It was unani- 
mously decided that the rights and privileges of Lennox 
should be restored, and the next time the queen appeared 
to give her regal sanction to the acts, the Due de Chatel- 
herault resumed his place in the procession to bear the 
crown, lest by his absence the claims of his rival to that 
honor should be recognized. 

Queen Elizabeth gave signs of such severe displeasure 
at this season that Mary despatched that adroit courtier, 
Sir James Melville, to inquire into the cause, and author- 
ized him to offer any explanation or apology that might be 
deemed necessary to effect a reconciliation ; he was also 
to come to a private understanding with Lord Robert 
Dudley. On his arrival in London, he received special 
marks of attention from the handsome master of the 
horse, who sent his servant with a fine riding animal 
and embroidered saddle for his use during his sojourn at 
the English court. Melville's first presentation to the 
queen took place in the garden of her palace, where she 
was walking. She expressed herself with considerable 
warmth about the spiteful letter the Queen of Scots had 
written her, and vowed she would never write to her again, 
unless it were a letter equally spiteful. Melville says : 
" Indeed, she had one already written, which she took out 



146 Mary Stuart. 

of her pouch to let me see, but added that the reason she 
had not sent it was because it was too gentle ; so she de- 
layed till she could write another, more vehement, in 
answer to the angry billet of the Queen of Scots." She 
showed the ambassador the letter Mary had written, but 
he could not discover anything offensive in it, and adroitly 
imputed its being misunderstood to certain idiomatic ex- 
pressions in the French language. " For although," he 
says, "Her Majesty of England could speak as good 
French as any one who had never been in France, yet she 
lacked the use of the French court language, which was 
frank and concise, and had often two meanings, which dis- 
creet and familiar friends always took in the best sense." 
He therefore entreated her to tear up the letter she had 
prepared to send in answer to the one Mary had written, 
and declared that he would never let it be known how^ 
strangely his sovereign had been misunderstood. The 
mighty Elizabeth was so ashamed of the way she had ex- 
posed her ignorance of polite French, and so afraid of 
ridicule, that she tore up both letters then and there, and 
changed the subject by asking whether the Queen of 
Scots had sent any answer to the proposition of marriage 
made to her by Randolph. Melville answered that his 
queen had not given the matter much thougiit as she was 
more interested in affairs of state, and hoped that the 
commissioners would soon meet on the Border to confer 
on subjects of importance to the quiet of both realms. 
He added : " Her majesty thought of sending the Earl of 
Moray and Secretary Lethington on her part, and was in 
hopes that your grace would fulfil your promise to send 
the Earl of Bedford and Lord Robert Dudley." "You 
appear to make small account of my Lord Robert," ob- 
served Elizabeth, " by naming the Earl of Bedford before 
him ; but ere long I shall make him the greater earl, and 



1564- Mary Stuart. 147 

you shall see it done before you return home ; for I esteem 
Lord Robert as my brother and best friend, whom I would 
marry myself if I were minded to take a husband ; but 
being determined not to marr}^, I would that the queen, 
my sister, would take him. He is the meetest of all her 
suitors, and with him for her consort, I might sooner de- 
clare her next in succession to my realm than with any 
other person ; for I should not fear, if she were matched 
with him, that any attempts at usurpation would be made 
during my life." 

"To make my mistress think more of him," continued 
Melville, " I was required to stay in England till I had 
seen him made Earl of Leicester, and Baron of Denbigh, 
with great solemnity, at Westminster, the queen herself 
helping to put on his ceremonials, he sitting on his knees 
before her and behaving very discreetly and gravely ; but 
she put her hand around his neck and patted him with an 
approving smile, the French ambassador and I standing 
beside her. Then she asked how I liked him. I said as 
he was a worthy subject, he was happy in a princess that 
could discern and reward merit. 'Yet,' she said, 'ye 
think more of yonder lang lad,' pointing towards my Lord 
Darnley, who, as nearest prince of the blood, bore the 
sword of honor that day. My answer was that no woman 
of spirit would make choice of such a man, who was more 
like a woman than a man, for he was lovely, beardless, and 
lady-faced. I had no desire that she should think I liked 
him or had any eye that way." 

Elizabeth professed to Lord Melville much affection for 
his royal mistress, and a great desire to see her, saying 
that she often looked at her picture and kissed it. She 
showed him a large ruby, which he asked her to send to 
Mary as a token of love, or else Lord Leicester's picture. 
She said, " If your queen will follow my counsel she will 



148 Mary Stuart. 

get both in time, and all that I have, but I will now send 
her a diamond by you. Tell me," she added, " is my hair 
or Queen Mary's the finer, and which of us two is the 
fairer ? " He answered that the fairness of neither was 
her worst fault. Elizabeth repeated the question, and 
insisted upon an answer. '' Then I told her," says Mel- 
ville, " that she was the fairest Queen of England and 
ours the fairest Queen of Scotland. Yet she was not sat- 
isfied, and I said, ' You are the fairest ladies in your 
courts ; your majesty is the whiter, but our queen is very 
lusome.' " " Which of us is of the higher stature ? " asked 
Elizabeth. " Our queen," answered the ambassador. 
"Then she is over high," said Elizabeth, "for I am 
neither over high nor over low. What exercises does the 
Queen of Scots use ? " was the next question. Mebdlle 
replied that when he was despatched from Scotland she 
had just returned from hunting in the Highlands ; that 
when she had leisure from the affairs of her country, she 
read good books, such as the history of various lands, and 
sometimes played on the lute and virginals. " Does she 
play well ? " asked her majesty. " Reasonably well for a 
queen," was the reply. Elizabeth managed that he should 
hear her play the next day, and then asked which was the 
better performer, she or his mistress. " In that I gave 
her the praise," says the ambassador. She detained him 
two days, that he might have an opportunity to see her 
dance, and then asked whether she or his queen danced 
the more gracefully. He answered that his queen danced 
not so high nor with so much spirit as she did. Eliza- 
beth's excessive vanity prompted her to regard this as a 
compliment, and she was tickled at her own superiority. 

Next day Leicester invited Melville to sail with him in 
his barge from Hampton Court to London, his object 
being to inquire how Mary felt about the marriage which 



1564- Mary Stuart. 149 

Randolph had proposed to her with himself. " I answered 
unconcernedly, as the queen had commanded, and he 
began to excuse himself for aiming so high as to think of 
marrying a queen whose shoes he was scarcely good 
enough to wipe, saying that the proposition had originated 
with Cecil, who was his enemy. ' For,' he added, ' if I 
should have seemed to desire this marriage, I should have 
lost favor with both queens ; I pray you, therefore, to 
excuse me to yours, and let her not impute the fault to 
me, but to the malice of my enemies.' " Leicester cer- 
tainly had no desire to be played off as a puppet in this 
intrigue ; he was therefore anxious to have an understand- 
ing with Mary before he committed himself in so delicate 
a matter. 

Melville, on his return to Scotland, carried presents 
from Lady Lennox to the queen and her ministers, as she 
wished to purchase all the good will possible for her son, 
young Darnley. The ambassador was also charged with 
messages of affection to Mary from many important per- 
sonages, Protestant as well as Catholic, 

As soon as Mary saw him, she inquired whether the 
Queen of England was in reality so friendly towards her 
as she had pretended to be. " In my opinion," was his 
reply, "there was neither plain dealing nor upright mean- 
ing, but great dissimulation, rivalry, and fear lest your 
princely qualities should outshine her and chase her out 
of her kingdom. I judge this by her hindering your mar- 
riage with the Archduke Charles of Austria, and now 
offering my Lord of Leicester, whom she would not marry 
herself, for she gave me her hand that she never would 
marry the newly made earl." 

Scarcely had Melville succeeded in restoring at least a 
semblance of good feeling between the two queens, than 
Elizabeth found new cause for offence in a report which 



150 Mary Stuart. 

reached her from France, that Mary had treated the offer 
she had made of her favorite with contempt. This was 
not a fact, for the Queen of Scots had been very guarded 
in the remarks she had made about this matter ; but as the 
spies had informed Elizabetli that Mary had been observed 
to laugh more than usual for several days after the propo- 
sition was made to her, without giving any reason for her 
mirth, her English majesty could not be convinced that it 
was not in ridicule of herself. 

The commissioners appointed by the two queens to 
negotiate for the marriage met at Berwick on the 19th of 
No\ember. They were Bedford and Randolph on the 
part of Elizabeth, and Moray and Lethington on that of 
Mary, but there are so many conflicting reports as to the 
behavior of these gentlemen that it does not seem that 
they treated the matter very seriously. 

[A. D, 1565.] Queen Mary left Edinburgh for St. 
Andrew's at the beginning of the new year, and estab- 
lished her residence at the house of one of the loyal citi- 
zens, where, attended by her four Marys and a few other 
chosen friends, she enjoyed for a period the repose and 
comfort of domestic life. But she was soon interrupted 
in her quiet retreat by Randolph, who followed her early 
in February with a packet of letters from his royal mis- 
tress on the subject of her alliance with Leicester. He 
writes to Elizabeth : " As soon as time served I did pre- 
sent the letters, which being read, and, as it appeared by 
her countenance, very well liked, she said little to me at 
that time. The next day she passed wholly in enjoyment, 
and said she would not be otherwise than quiet and merry. 
Her grace lodges in a merchant's house, and there are 
very few in her train. She desired that while I stayed 
there I should dine and sup with her. Your majesty's 
health was oftentimes drunk by her. Having continued 



1565- Mary Stuart. 151 

with her grace Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I thought 
it time to take occasion to ask, as I had been commanded 
by your majesty, what was her resolution touching the 
matter which was considered at Berwick by my Lord of 
Bedford, myself, and my Lords of Moray and Lethington. 
I had no sooner spoken these words than she said, ' I see 
now well that you are weary of this company and treat- 
ment. I sent for you to be merry, and to see how like a 
bourgeoise wife I live with my little troop ; and you will 
interrupt our pastime with your grave and important mat- 
ters. I pray you, sir, if you be weary here, return home 
to Edinburgh, and keep your gravity and your ambassa- 
dorial affairs until the queen come thither ; for I assure 
you she is not to be found here, nor do I know what has 
become of her. You see neither cloth of state nor such 
appearance as to make you think that there is a queen 
here ; nor would T that you should think me the same per- 
son at St. Andrew's that I was at Edinburgh.' I said I 
was sorry for that," continues Randolph, " for at Edin- 
burgh she said that she did love the queen, my mistress, 
better than any other ; and now I wondered how her mind 
had altered. It pleased her at this to be very merry, and 
to call me by more names than were given me at my chris- 
tening; and this excited great sport. 'And now, sir,' she 
said, ' that which I then said in words shall be confirmed 
to my good sister, your mistress, in writing. Before you 
leave this town you shall have a letter to her ; and for 
yourself, go where you will ; I care no more for you.' The 
next day," proceeds Randolph, " I was placed at the usual 
table, next to the queen herself, save worthy Beton." As 
he appeared at that time to be in love with Mary Beton, 
the queen favored the courtship by placing him next to 
that young lady at table, where all stately etiquette was 
banished during that enjoyable time. 



152 Mary Stuart. 

" Very merrily she passes her days," continues Ran- 
dolph. " After dinner she rides, and during this time she 
talked to me a great deal. She had much to say about 
France, and of the affection she had received from the 
people there, for which she was bound to love them and 
to do them all the good in her power. She added, ' There 
are among my subjects, too, those who are nurtured in 
France, as, for example, my Archer Guard ; also am I 
under obligations for the privileges granted to my mer- 
chants, greater than those from any other nation. How 
they have long sought for me to yield to their desires in 
my marriage, cannot be unknown to her majesty, your 
mistress. Not to marry, you know, cannot be for me. To 
defer it long may be inconvenient. How willing I am to 
follow the advice of your mistress I have shown many 
times, and yet I can find in her no resolution. My mean- 
ing unto her is plain, and so shall my dealings be.' " 

By enlarging on the advantages offered her by France, 
Mary desired to show Elizabeth's minister that, if she was 
to prefer the English alliance to the one offered by her old 
friends, she must have some equivalent. This would have 
cost England nothing, for the only compensation Mary 
asked was that she might be recognized by the queen and 
Parliament as next in succession. Randolph made great 
professions of good will, but committed his sovereign by 
no promises ; and thus ended the conference. His official 
report of the five days spent at St. Andrew's contained a 
complete account of Mary's manners, language, behavior, 
and habits. 



CHAPTER VI. 

[A.D. 1565.] The merry days spent by Mary Stuart at 
the house of her merchant friend at St. Andrew's were 
limited to ten. She left there on the 7th of February, and, 
after stopping at several places, arrived at Wemyss Castle 
on the 13th. She was not travelling in royal state, be- 
cause she had received notice that her long expected 
kinsman, Lord Darnley, had commenced his journey to 
Scotland, and, as she particularly desired to escape the 
notice of the Lennox party, she had arranged to meet him 
in the secluded castle of West Wemyss. 

Darnley arrived at Berwick about the same time that 
Mary left St. Andrew's, and, as he was the bearer of letters 
to Randolph from the Earl of Leicester, he was received 
by the English authorities with the distinction to which 
his high rank entitled him. After crossing the Border, he 
stopped first at Dunbar, then at Haddington, and next 
dined with Lord Seton at Seton Castle, before proceeding 
to Edinburgh. He had outridden all his followers except- 
ing one servant, and performed the long wintry journey, 
over bad roads, in wretched weather, with such unexam- 
pled speed that, when he arrived, even those who were 
expecting him could not believe it was he. 

When Darnley reached the metropolis, he wrote to his 
father, who was at Dunkeld, to know whether he should 
proceed to him or should cross the water to seek the 
queen. During the three days which intervened before 
his answer came, he received signal marks of attention 
and respect from many of the Scottish lords, as well as 

153 



154 Mary Stiiait. 

from Randolph, who waited upon him twice. " Because 
his own horses had not come," writes the ambassador, 
" I lent him a couple of mine — the best I had, for himself, 
the other, not bad, for a servant. Upon Friday he passed 
over the water, and upon Saturday he met with the queen, 
where I hear he was heartily welcomed and honorably 
received." 

It was more than four years since Darnley had been 
sent by his lady mother to carry letters of condolence to 
the youthful widow at Orleans, on the death of her beloved 
consort, Francis II. The pretty boy of fifteen was now a 
young man of nineteen, tall, handsome, and graceful. He 
made a most agreeable impression on Mary, who invited 
him to take up his abode with her and her ladies, at 
Wemyss Castle. The weather was so inclement, that 
Queen Mary and her companions had to depend on their 
mental resources for amusement; this was fortunate for 
Darnley, for it afforded him an opportunity to show how 
well he could sing, dance, play on the lute, converse in 
various languages, and write poetry. He could, moreover, 
entertain his royal cousin and her maids of honor with 
the secret history and gossip of the English court, of 
which he had an ample supply. 

After a week spent in the delightful seclusion of 
Wemyss Castle, Lord Darnley proceeded to Dunkeld to 
pay his respects to his father, by whose advice he had 
first visited the queen ; and she returned to Holyrood 
House, where she was soon joined by her young English 
cousin. 

Darnley 's first business was to gain the good will of the 
leading members of the Scottish cabinet by discreetly 
distributing the costly jewels his mother had given him 
for that purpose. To the Earl of Moray, he presented a 
diamond of great value, and, in return, the earl took him 



1565- Mary Stuart. 155 

to hear John Knox preach. In a worldl}^ point of view, 
this was really a service, because it induced the members 
of the Congregation to regard Darn ley with favor. Both 
by education and choice he was a Papist, so was his 
father ; but as the popular party was Protestant, both 
attended the preachings regularly, and pretended to 
approve of them. 

" Yesterday," writes Randolph to Cecil, " both his 
Lordship of Darnley and I dined with the Earl of Moray, 
His lordship's behavior is very well liked, and there is 
great praise of him. Yesterday he heard Mr. Knox 
preach, and came in the company of my Lord of Moray. 
After supper, when he had seen the queen and other 
ladies dance, he, being invited by my Lord of Moray, 
danced a minuet with the queen, who, since her journey, 
is much stronger than when she went forth." 

Encouraged by the recall of Lennox, Bothwell sent one 
Murra}'^, from France, to intercede with the queen for his 
return, and ordered his messenger, if she proved inexora- 
ble, to purchase, if possible, the good offices of some of 
those in power, that he might at least be granted an allow- 
ance from his estates. But he could obtain no favor 
whatever; so, rendered desperate by poverty, he had the 
audacity to return to Scotland without awaiting Mary's 
permission. Randolph thus communicates to Cecil her 
sentiments on this subject : " The queen altogether dis- 
likes his coming home without her license ; she hath al- 
ready sent a sergeant-at-arms to command him to underlie 
the law, which if he refuse to do, he will be pronounced a 
rebel. As it is thought that he will leave the country 
again, and perchance for a time seek refuge in England, 
I am required to write to your honor to use your influence 
with the queen's majesty, Elizabeth, that he may have no 
retreat within her realm, and that warning thereof may be 



156 Mary Stuart. 

given to her majesty's officers. For inasmuch as my Lord 
of Bothwell is charged by Murray, who has just come 
from France, with having spoken dishonorably of this 
queen, and also with having threatened that on his return 
to Scotland he would be the death of both Moray and 
Lethington, he ought not to find refuge in England." 

Bothwell established himself in his old quarters at Her- 
mitage, in defiance of the queen and her sergeants-at-arms. 
While he was there, one of his stable-men confessed to 
having been one of the conspirators in France, in a plot 
to poison him, and declared that Secretary Lethington 
and the Lord of Pencreth had engaged three men to do 
the deed. His statement was corroborated by Bothwell's 
page, who added this piece of information : That the 
barber was to administer the poison, but when it was all 
ready, his heart failed him and he refused to do it. Both- 
well wrote all this to the queen, who, however, was so dis- 
pleased with his resistance of her authority that she took 
no notice of him. Within a few days he was summoned 
to answer for his contemplated abduction of her, two 
years before, and for escaping from prison, instead of 
standing his trial like an honest man. 

On the first Thursday in March a grand dinner was 
given by the Earl of Moray, to which both Lennox and 
Darnley were invited to meet Randolph and most of the 
Scottish nobles then in Edinburgh. The ladies of the 
royal household were present also, and the queen sent 
word that she wished herself in the company, and was 
sorry she had not been invited to the banquet. The 
answer she got was that the house was her own, and she 
was free to come uninvited. Then she replied that they 
were all to be at her banquet on the following Sunday, to 
celebrate the marriage of John Sempill and Mary Living- 
stone, the latter being her special favorite. These two 



1565. Mary Stuart. 157 

had been engaged for a long time, both being in the 
service of the queen ; but the maid-of-honor refused to 
marry, on account of her pledge, until her majesty was 
pleased to break the romantic bond by signifying her 
wish that the ceremony should take place forthwith. 

As an extraordinary mark of favor they were married 
at Holyrood, and the queen gave a great feast in honor of 
the occasion. She presented them with an estate in 
Fifeshire and other lands besides. To the bride she 
gave a splendid bed of scarlet velvet, with silk curtains 
and fringe. 

All this time the treaty for Mary's marriage with the 
Earl of Leicester was being considered ; but Lord Darnley 
became so impatient, and was so deeply in love, that, 
instead of waiting for the formalities of royal etiquette, he 
asked his cousin Mary to marry him. " She took it in 
evil part at first," says Sir James Melville, whom she had 
chosen for her private monitor, " as she told me the same 
day herself, and how she refused the ring which he 
offered her." As Melville was a stanch Protestant, it 
was a proof of Mary's liberality in religious matters that 
she selected him for her private counsellor ; and she must 
have been sincere, because she had previously urged 
Knox to accept the office, but he had rudely refused. 
Melville assures us that he performed his duties con- 
scientiously, by telling his youthful sovereign of every- 
thing which he thought might be taken amiss by her 
subjects, and she received his fault-finding in good part, 
always trying to reform whatever he objected to. One 
piece of advice he gave her at this time was to tell David 
Riccio to keep himself more in the background, because, 
as her private secretary, this deformed little vocalist had 
interfered in government affairs, much to the disgust of 
the Scottish nobles. But having promoted David to a 



158 Mary Shiart. 

position of trust, the queen chose to place him on a foot- 
ing with her other officers, and to treat him as though he 
had been born in the station to which his talents and 
devotion had induced her to elevate him. She consid- 
ered the conduct of her peers towards the man whom she 
chose to honor, insolent in the extreme, and continued to 
bestow her patronage as she pleased. Seeing how the ill- 
feeling against Riccio increased, Melville took occasion 
to discuss the matter with her majesty, and to give 
further advice. She replied that David meddled no 
further than concerned her foreign correspondence, and 
in that she must continue to give him her instructions in 
private, no matter who was offended by it. Melville 
reminded her of the consequences of Chastellar and the 
Earl of Arran having been too much flattered by her 
attentions, and hinted at the necessity of more reserve in 
this case. Mary thanked him, and promised to consider 
the matter. 

Unfortunately it happened that Lord Darnley, who was 
excessively fond of music, took a great fancy to Riccio, 
whose superb voice charmed him, and they became very 
intimate. Darnley told him how much he loved the 
queen, and David acted as a go-between. Thus Mel- 
ville's sage advice was counteracted, and the singer had 
more secret conferences with his sovereign than ever 
before ; then, as he was protected by a prince of the 
blood, the queen's nearest relation, he held up his head 
so loftily that those who were wont to scowl upon him, 
now began to court him with attentions and costly pres- 
ents, hoping that, through him, royal favors might be 
bestowed on themselves. 

The first of her ministers to perceive that Mary was 
not indifferent to Darnley was the Earl of Argyll, and he 
at once entered into a league with Moray, the Due de 



1565- Mary Stuart. 159 

Chatelheraiilt, and Queen Elizabeth to prevent the mar- 
riage, under the pretence that they feared serious trouble 
to the realm in case Queen Mary should take a consort 
of her own religion. 

In the March of 1565, the English ambassador writes 
thus to Cecil, Elizabeth's prime minister : " By the way, I 
will tell your honor a merry tale, but very true, which usu- 
ally tales are not. There is a person at this court named 
Moffet, who commonly once in three years entereth into a 
phrenzy. Within the past few days, he hath taken it into 
his head that he is the queen's husband. A great Protes- 
tant he is, and very godly, when he is in his wits. He 
came one day to the queen's chapel, and, finding the priest 
at mass, drew out his sword, drove the priest from the 
altar into the vestry, broke the chalice, and threw and 
pulled to pieces all the robes, relics, cross, and candle- 
sticks ; and everything was cut and broken. The mass- 
sayerwas the Doctor of Sorbonne. The queen's physician 
was present ; and he says that he was never in greater 
fear of his life, and that he hid himself behind the tapestry 
until the danger was past. It angers the queen as much 
as it pleases others to have her sacred place thus dis- 
turbed." 

Though Mary had bestowed her heart on Darnley, in- 
trigues for her marriage with Leicester went on, because 
Randolph did not suspect the truth. She could not, how- 
ever, declare her intentions in Darnley's favor until she 
was rid of Leicester's pretensions. So, in order to bring 
matters to a crisis, she required Elizabeth to fulfil her 
promise to declare her heiress apparent to the crown of 
England. Elizabeth answered, through Randolph, that if 
Mary would marry the Earl of Leicester, she would be 
■willing to advance him to higher honors, and also to favor 
her title in every way, excepting that of declaring it. 



i6o Mary Stuart. 

Mary was so indignant at having been treated like a child, 
that she expressed her opinion of the English sovereign 
in no flattering terms ; and Elizabeth wrote a fierce letter 
in reply. 

Meanwhile, Cardinal de Lorraine heard of his niece's 
love for Darnley, and of the probability that she would 
marry him. He wrote a letter, imploring her, if she val- 
ued her happiness, to give up all idea of such an alliance, 
and requested his messenger to tell her that Darnley was 
a high-born, quarrelsome coxcomb, unfit in any respect to 
be her consort. But the warning was in vain ; for Mary 
was infatuated, and could discover no faults in the object 
of her devotion. 

Before Darnley had been at the court of Holyrood a 
month, he incurred the deadly hatred of the Earl of Moray 
in this way : he was looking over a map of Scotland with 
the earl's half-brother, and asked him to point out Moray's 
lands. Surprised at the extent of his possessions, consid- 
ering that he had nothing by inheritance, Darnley rashly 
exclaimed, "That is entirely too much." Of course, this 
was repeated to the prime minister, who complained to the 
queen. She advised Darnley to make an apology ; but 
the mischief was done, and Moray could not feel assured 
that he would be permitted to keep the property of which 
he had robbed the church that Darnley believed in even 
more blindly than the queen did. After that, there was 
no kindly feeling between Mary's lover and her premier. 
Moray now did all in his power to prevail upon his royal 
sister to accept Leicester, and entered into a fresh bond 
with his own party to compel her to do so. But his influ- 
ence with her was over. Darnley had replaced him, and 
had brought David Riccio forward in so unwise and unbe- 
coming a manner that all business of importance was 
referred to him. 




WILLIAM CECIL. 



1565- Mary Stuart. 163 

" For form's sake," says Castelnau, in his memoirs, 
" the Queen of Scotland asked my advice about this mar- 
riage, and begged me to mention it to the King and 
Queen-Mother of France in such a way as to obtain their 
sanction, as she would be sorry to do anything that was 
not agreeable to them." She commissioned Lethington to 
signify her intention to Queen Elizabeth, and to say that 
she was acting in conformity with her directions, in giving 
up all her foreign suitors for an English consort, — such 
an one as, being their mutual kinsman, would, she trusted, 
be approved of by her majesty. She also despatched an 
envoy secretly to Rome, the near relationship of the con- 
tracting parties requiring a special dispensation from the 
pope. 

On the 31st of March, the queen proceeded to Stirling, 
attended by Moray, Riccio, Darnley, and her usual retinue. 
Darnley had lodgings in the castle ; but he boarded him- 
self and his servants. A few days after his arrival, he was 
attacked with measles ; and the queen showed so much 
anxiety, and bestowed so much care and attention on the 
invalid that, for the first time, Randolph became aware 
that she was really in love with him, and so reported to 
the English premier. 

The Earl of Moray withdrew in disgust from Stirling, 
after he had rendered the queen uncomfortable by his ill 
will towards Darnley and his jealousy of Riccio, who, in 
the absence of Lethington, filled the office of secretary of 
state. Riccio was suspected of urging the queen to marry 
Darnley ; but, whether this was so or no, certain it is that 
a Romish chapel was fitted up in his apartment, where, as 
soon as Darnley was convalescent, he was secretly married 
to the queen, without waiting for the return of her envoys 
from the courts of England and France. 

Meanwhile, unconscious of what had happened, Leth- 



164 Mary Stuart. 

ington delivered his message to Elizabeth, who, having 
heard of the marriage, at first affected great surprise that 
the Queen of Scots would condescend to accept a subject 
for her consort. The French ambassador, who was pres- 
ent, said, " The marriage appears a reasonable one under 
the circumstances, and not likely to prove inconvenient to 
your majesty." Elizabeth replied, " I am displeased at 
the manner in which it was done ; for I intended to marry 
the Queen of Scotland to a person whom I love better 
than Lord Darnley." This was, of course, Leicester, 
though he was infinitely beneath Darnley in rank. Leth- 
ington then demanded the recognition of his mistress as 
heiress to the English throne, in case she were disposed to 
please her majesty in the matter of her marriage. To this 
Elizabeth sharply rejoined, " I must first be assured that 
the Queen of Scotland is free to marry ; for I have been 
informed that she is already wedded to Lord Darnley." 
Lethington protested so earnestly that it was not so, that 
Elizabeth began to think she had been misinformed, and 
said, " I will send Throckmorton to Scotland with instruc- 
tions to put it to the test by a fresh offer of the Earl of 
Leicester ; or, if Mary should prefer the Duke of Norfolk, 
he shall be at her service," 

Another attempt was made by Cardinal de Lorraine to 
have the brave, honest, illustrious Prince de Conde 
accepted by his niece for her consort, and well might it 
have been for her had she yielded in time ; but she was 
bound to Darnley, and ignorant of the true heart she had 
rejected. She was soon occupied with preparations for 
the public ceremony of her nuptials with her secretly 
wedded husband, and sent to Antwerp for gold and silver 
tissues, and other costly materials, for her bridal robes. 

Queen Elizabeth sent Mary, by Lethington, a superb 
diamond, worth six hundred pounds, as a token of love, 




LORD DARNLEY. 



iS^S- Mary Stuart. 167 

and said, " If your mistress will be guided by my wishes, 
she will obtain from me more than she either asks or 
expects." Mary despatched Lethington back to the Eng- 
lish court with instructions to try to remove the objec- 
tions of the queen and her council to her marriage. But 
he yielded entirely to Elizabeth's policy, betrayed the 
confidence of his royal mistress, and proved that he 
had never ceased to be one of England's secret-service 
men. 

On the 15th of May, the queen met her nobles in her 
parliament hall, at Stirling Castle, and signified her 
intention to contract matrimony with her cousin Henry, 
Lord Darnley. As no objection was raised, Moray, who 
was present, said, " Seeing that none of the other lords 
object to it, I suppose it is best for me to consent." 

Henry Stuart, Lord of Darnley, was now introduced 
into the courtly circle as the future partner of the throne ; 
and he advanced to pronounce the oath of a knight, 
according to the time-honored forms of the code of chiv- 
alry, kneeling before the queen as he did so. She then 
invested him with the insignia of his order, and bade him 
exercise the privilege she had just conferred on him, by 
knighting fourteen nobles for his companions, and gave 
him authority over them as master of the fraternity. 
Four of these gentlemen bore the surname of Stuart. 
The sovereign next proceeded to create Sir Henry Stuart 
a baron and a peer of her Parliament, naming him the 
Lord of Ardmanach ; lastly, she belted him Earl of Ross, 
on which occasion he made the following oath as he 
knelt before her: — 

" I shall be true and leal to my sovereign lady. Queen 
of Scotland, maintain and defend her, her highness' 
body, realm, lieges, and laws, to the utmost of my power, 
so help me God, the holy Evangel, and mine own hand." 



1 68 Mary Sttiart. 

No sooner were all these distinguished marks of honor 
bestowed on Darnley than he began to exhibit a very proud, 
selfish, irritable nature, and to prove that he was totally un- 
fitted for the position he had been called upon to fill. He 
would stand no opposition to his will ; and whenever he 
was crossed, even in the most trifling matter, he would 
give way to a tremendous outburst of temper. For 
example, when the justice-clerk, one of the highest 
law-officers in Scotland, was sent by the queen to inform 
him that, for the time being, she must defer creating him 
Duke of Albany, lest Queen Elizabeth might be exasper- 
ated thereby, he flew into a passion, drew his sword, and 
would have injured the man had he not made his escape. 
It is very clear that the queen was afraid to tell him her- 
self. Randolph thus describes the unsettled state of the 
court and cabinet at this period, as well as the uncontrol- 
lable temper of Darnley : " Her counsellors are now 
those she liked least ; the nearest of her kin are farthest 
from her heart. My Lord of Moray liveth where he 
listeth. My Lord of Lethington hath now both leave 
and time to court his lady-love, Mary Fleming. Riccio 
now worketh everything ; for he is chief secretary to the 
queen, and only governor of her good man, whose pride 
is intolerable. His words are so insulting that no man 
will bear them excepting he who dare not speak back ; 
and he lets blows fly where he knows they will be taken. 
Such passions, such furies, as I hear say that he is some- 
times in, make one wonder. Whether the people have 
cause to rejoice at such a prince, I leave it to the world 
to judge." Darnley must have been either a fool or 
a madman, to render himself an object of hatred ; and 
a confederacy was already forming to get rid of him. 

On the 3d of June Mary arrived at Perth, where she 
had summoned her nobles to meet her, for the purpose of 



1565- Mary Stuart. 169 

making the necessary arrangements for her public mar- 
riage. Moray had told her that if she would absolutely 
put down the Catholic religion in Scotland, he would see 
to the preparations ; but she had replied that it was not 
in her power to put down any form of worship, that being 
the business of Parliament, She added, however, that 
she was willing to hear conferences on the Scriptures, and 
to attend the public preachings, provided they came from 
the mouths of men who were pleasing to her. This was 
certainly liberal ; but it failed to satisfy those who were 
determined to find fault. 

Moray and his party, who, a couple of weeks before, 
voted in favor of the marriage, now began to oppose it 
with all their might, and applied to the English sovereign 
for money and other aid for its prevention. Randolph 
was instructed to promise every encouragement ; and 
from this date he became Mary's malignant foe. He 
declared that she was bewitched ; and accused the poor, 
oppressed Countess of Lennox of being the witch, whose 
magic was communicated to the queen through a bracelet 
she had sent her. 

The Earl of Argyll and other nobles, who had refused 
to convene at Perth in obedience to the queen's sum- 
mons, assembled, on their own authority, a great Protes- 
tant convention at Edinburgh on the 24th. They pre- 
tended that the meeting was for the protection of the 
Reformed Church from the dangers that threatened it in 
consequence of the queen's marriage with a Papist ; but 
it was purely political, and, of course, filled the queen 
with uneasiness. Knowing that she was surrounded by 
spies at Perth, she determined to withdraw to the house 
of the Earl of Athol, at Dunkeld, for a few days' repose, 
and for the purpose of considering what to do. Darnley 
and his father were to accompany her ; but before they 



I/O Mary Stuart. 

were ready to start, a fresh summons from Queen Eliza- 
beth was presented, for their immediate return to Eng- 
land. This was most perplexing to both ; and, as an 
angry letter reached Mary from the English sovereign at 
the same time, there was consternation besides. 

Mary knew by this time the unfriendly and dishonora- 
ble part Randolph was playing ; and she would give him 
no satisfaction when he urged her to persuade Lennox and 
Darnley to obey Queen Elizabeth. All she said was : " I 
trust your royal mistress is of another mind by this time." 
The anxieties and difficulties of her position produced 
such a change in her appearance that everybody noticed 
it ; but many attributed it to regret at the step she had 
taken, in uniting herself to the violent, jealous Darnley. 

Now, in order to get rid of Lennox and his son, the very 
inconvenient members of the court, Moray and his party 
determined to make a bold attempt to seize them in the 
presence of the queen ; to hurry her away to Lochleven 
Castle, there to imprison her until she yielded to all their 
demands ; and to carry the two men, who were under 
penalty of treason, to Berwick, there to surrender both to 
the tender mercies of the offended English sovereign. If 
they met with any resistance, more summary measures 
were to be taken with Darnley. It was arranged that this 
enterprise should be attempted when the queen returned 
from Dunkeld, where she passed only four days, for she 
had only a limited number of personal attendants in her 
train, and they could be easily overcomq. 

Mary went as far as Perth on the 30th of June, intend- 
ing to ride the next day to Callander House to stand god- 
mother for the infant of Lord and Lady Livingstone, in 
accordance with a promise she had made them. Late in 
the night, after she had retired to her chamber and was 
preparing for bed, a loyal and courageous gentleman of 



iS^S- Mary Stuart. 171 

Dowhill, named Lindsay, presented himself at the castle, 
and demanded admittance, saying that he had news of the 
utmost importance to communicate to the queen. She 
saw him immediately, and, on being informed of the con- 
spiracy which he had come to reveal, she assembled such 
members of her council as were at hand, — Lennox, 
Athol and Ruthven, — to consider what was to be done. 
They advised her not to risk the journey, but thought she 
was really in no less danger where she was. She decided 
to set out for Callander House a few hours earlier than 
she had intended, hoping thus to disappoint the conspira- 
tors and get beyond their reach. Athol and Ruthven set 
to work to gather an armed escort from among their fol- 
lowers and the loyal gentlemen of the neighborhood, and 
when her majesty mounted for her journey, two hundred 
armed horsemen surrounded her. She was in the saddle 
by five o'clock in the morning, and astonished Lord and 
Lady Livingstone by presenting herself at their gates 
several hours before she was expected. But she had not 
used too much haste, for only two hours after she had 
passed Lochleven, Argyll came down from Castle Camp- 
bell, and, when he found that he was too late, deceitfully 
observed that he thought to meet her majesty there to 
invite her to dine with my Lord of Moray at Lochleven 
Castle. 

Before leaving Callander House, Queen Mary received 
the alarming news that a great number of the Congre- 
gational citizens of Edinburgh had encamped on St. 
Leonard's Crags, intending to mutiny. Her courage rose 
with the difficulties of her position, and, at the head of a 
gallant little escort, she rode towards the capital. The 
leaders of the tumult fled at her approach, and, as she pro- 
claimed a pardon to all who would peacefully return to 
their duties, the crowd dispersed. 



1/2 Mary Sttiart. 

The queen, Darnley, and Lennox were all very much 
pressed for money at this time, Randolph had mentioned 
this fact, with evident satisfaction, in the reports he sent 
to England, all of which were colored to suit the disposi- 
tion of his sovereign. On the 4th of July he wrote : 
" There arrived a ship out of Flanders on Monday last ; 
in the same there was a servant of the Earl of Lennox, 
who brought with him a chest in which, it was suspected 
by the weight, there was a goodly store of money. In 
this way they have either means or credit ; so much the 
worse." After the lapse of a fortnight the worthy ambas- 
sador further informs his correspondent that it was after 
all only apparel belonging to one Nicholson, a tailor from 
St. Paul's Churchyard, who was seeking to enter my Lord 
Darnley 's service. 

The conspiracy of Moray to seize the person of the 
queen, and her spirited behavior, had kindled a glow of 
loyal enthusiasm in every true heart in Scotland. When, 
therefore, she issued her royal summons, to such of her 
peers as she could depend upon, to convene at Edinburgh, 
with their servants and vassals, in warlike array, she found 
herself within three days surrounded by such a body of 
soldiers as to banish all fears of the evil designs of her 
foes. The challenge was not accepted by Moray, or any 
of his friends ; but Mary, who was decidedly a peace sov- 
ereign, made another effort to concilate them. " A few 
days only before the celebration of my marriage," she 
writes to De Foix, the French ambassador in London, " I 
sent to entreat them to come to it ; but they excused them- 
selves, and protested that they would assemble to defend 
their own lives and properties, and to prevent the usurped 
mastery of the king, my husband ; and, not content with 
that, they put forth proclamations, saying all they could to 
make me odious to my subjects. Such is the obedience 



^S^S- Mary Stuart. 173 

they have paid me, such the manner in which they have 
conducted themselves towards me." 

At this time, when the tocsin of revolt was resounding 
through her realm, Mary, in an evil hour for herself, 
recalled the powerful Border chief, the Earl of Bothwell, 
from his long exile. 

On the 2 1 St of July, Randolph had an audience with 
the queen for the purpose of delivering a message 
from Elizabeth, advising her not to take arms against 
Moray, and others associated in the insurrectionary move- 
ment, as they were her best subjects. " I cannot consider 
them my best subjects," replied Mary, "since they will 
not obey my commands; and, therefore, my good sister 
ought not to be offended if I do that against them which 
they deserve." Randolph begged her to consider whence 
■the advice came, and the danger to her own person if she 
did not heed it. But Mary was not frightened, and said : 
" For all these things, I have remedy enough, and will 
never esteem those good subjects who will act so contrary 
to my will as they do." Randolph then proceeded to 
remind Lennox and Darnley of the Queen of England's 
mandate for their return. The former said that, on 
account of the hard usage of his wife, he would not go 
back, adding: "Since her majesty does not please to 
accept my letters of humble submission, it would be too 
dangerous for me to return, unless assured that she would 
be gracious to me ; but I am ready to do her all the 
service that I lawfully may." Darnley spoke in a loftier 
tone, thus : " I do now acknowledge no other duty or 
obedience but to the queen here, whom I serve and honor ; 
and seeing that the other, your mistress, is so envious of 
my good fortune, I doubt not but Queen Mary may have 
need of me, as you shall know within a few days; where- 
fore to return I intend not. I find myself very well where 



174 Mary Stuart. 

I am, and so purpose to keep myself ; and this shall serve 
for your answer." Randolph reproached him for esteem- 
ing his duty to such a queen as Elizabeth so lightly, 
whereupon the rash Darnley boasted that he and the 
Queen of Scots had so strong a party in England that 
Queen Elizabeth had more cause to be in fear of them 
than they of her, and that he would like nothing better 
than an opportunity to lead an invasion into the northern 
counties, adding, with still greater imprudence, " I care 
more for the Papists in England than for all the Protes- 
tants in Scotland." 

Unawed by the threats of Elizabeth, or the rebellious 
spirit of her brother Moray, Queen Mary bestowed the 
royal title of Duke of Albany on Darnley, and ordered 
the banns of her marriage to be proclaimed by the 
Reformed minister of the parish, according to the law of 
the land. But Darnley was not yet satisfied ; " Avant 
Darnley — Jamais derriere''^ was the motto of his family, 
and he would not stop importuning his wife until she had 
proclaimed him King of Scotland. She implored him to 
have patience and to wait until he had completed his 
twenty-first year, when probably public affairs would be in 
better condition, but he was selfish and intractable, and 
as she had promised him wifely obedience, she had to 
sacrifice her better judgment to his wilfulness. Besides, 
the ambitious, unprincipled Earl of Lennox advised her 
to comply. 

On Saturday, July 28, the day before the public 
solemnization of her marriage, the queen executed a 
warrant commanding her Lord Lyon King of Arms, and 
his brother heralds, to proclaim Henry, Duke of Albany, 
King of Scotland by her authority, in view of the bond of 
matrimony, which was to be completed, in the face of 
holy kirk, between her and the said illustrious prince, on 



^5^S- 



Mary Sttiart. 



175 



the following day, when he was to receive the title. This 
proclamation was made at nine o'clock in the evenino-^ at 
the Abbey gates and the market-cross, with the sound of 
trumpets. 

As six o'clock in the morning was the time appointed 
by the queen for her marriage, she was led from her cham- 










HOLYROOD HOUSE. 



ber at half after five, between the Earls of Lennox and 
Athol, to the chapel royal of Holyrood, attended by her 
ladies and all the loyal nobles of Scotland. The bride- 
groom was then conducted, in like manner, by the same 
earls, to the altar ; and the banns were proclaimed for the 
third time. A certificate was taken by a notary that no 
man objected or had any cause to offer why the marriage 
might not proceed, and the document was subscribed in 



176 Mary Stuart. 

regal style by Henry and Marie R, This done, the cere- 
mony was performed, according to the ritual of the church 
of Rome. 

Mary was married in a mourning robe, because royal 
etiquette required her to appear thus on all state occasions, 
until she was the wife of another. As soon as the mass 
was over which concluded the marriage ceremony, the 
bride was led back to her own apartment, where the royal 
bridegroom was waiting, with the rest of her nobles, to 
receive her. He appealed to her to lay aside her sorrow- 
ful attire. At first, she refused, this being in accordance 
with custom ; but, on being urged, she retired with her 
ladies, and put on bridal robes. Dancing succeeded ; then 
a sumptuous banquet was served, trumpets sounded, and 
gold and silver coin was thrown among the people. Mary 
and her consort sat together at table, but she occupied the 
place of honor. They were served by the Earls of Athol, 
Morton, Crawford, Eglington, Cassilis, and Glencairn. 

That very night a tumult took place ; and, at an early 
hour in the morning, the queen summoned the principal 
burgesses and magistrates to her presence, to inquire into 
the cause. She suspected that the riot arose on account 
of the fears aroused by her marriage with a Roman Catho- 
lic, and therefore spoke in the following mild, persuasive 
manner : " I cannot comply with your desire that I should 
abandon the mass, having been brought up in the Catholic 
faith, which I esteem to be a thing so holy and pleasing 
in the sight of God that I could not leave it without great 
scruples of conscience ; nor ought my conscience to be 
forced in such matters, any more than yours. I therefore 
entreat you, as you have full liberty for the exercise of 
your religion, to be content with that, and allow me the 
same privilege. And again, as you have full security for 
your lives and property, without any vexation from me, 



1565- Mary Stuart. 177 

why should you not grant me the same ? As for the other 
things you demand of me, they are not in my power to 
accord, but must be submitted to my Parhament, which I 
propose sliortly to convene. In the meantime, you may 
be assured I will be advised on whatever is requisite for 
your weal and that of my realm ; and, as far as in me lies, 
I will strive to do whatever appears for the best." With 
this assurance, the tumult was quieted ; but when, at 
twelve o'clock that day, Darnley was again proclaimed 
king, nobody said Amen, excepting his father, who cried 
out in a loud voice, " God save his grace ! " 

There were no festivities to mark the celebration of 
Mary Stuart's marriage this time, for there was too much 
important business to occupy her mind. Several lords 
were denounced as rebels, among whom were Moray and 
Argyll. Thereupon these two retired to Argyllshire, and 
sent their envoy to demand immediate aid of Queen 
Elizabeth ; and Randolph assisted them to incite a rebel- 
lion that was to bring the horrors of an invasion to their 
native land. 

Sensible of the necessity of strengthening her own 
party, Mary restored several powerful nobles, who had 
been exiled or imprisoned, and among these were the 
Earl of Sutherland and Lord Gordon, heir of Huntley. 
The insurgent lords appeared in warlike array at Ayr, on 
the 15th of August, and Queen Mary told Randolph that 
unless he would promise on his honor not to meddle with 
her rebels, she would be under the necessity of putting a 
guard around his house. 



CHAPTER VII. 

[A.D, 1565.] The country was now in a distracted state : 
stealing, killing, and slaying in all parts. The queen acted 
with energy and spirit, and showed herself in every way 
as courageous as her predecessors. Each day she sat in 
council with her husband and her ministers, and issued 
letters appealing to the loyalty of the nobles and gentle- 
men of Scotland for assistance, addressing each as " trusty 
friend," and requesting them to come with their whole 
kin, friends, and household, to meet their sovereigns, who 
were preparing to go on the 25th of August, in person, to 
pursue the rebels. So well was this appeal responded to 
that a muster of five thousand able-bodied troops, with 
fifteen days' provisions, followed the queen's banner 
when she left Edinburgh. The advanced guard was led 
by the Earl of Morton ; the Earl of Lennox commanded 
the van, and in the centre rode the queen, her consort, 
her ladies, the lords of the council, and David Riccio. 
In token of her intention tc share the dangers of the 
conflict, Mary rode with pistols at her saddle-bow, and it 
was reported that her scarlet and gold embroidered riding- 
dress covered a light suit of armor, and that under her 
hood and veil she wore a steel casque. Darnley had 
donned gilded armor, thus making a dangerous display of 
himself, for the lords under Moray had appointed certain 
military men of their number, in the event of a battle, to 
set upon the queen's husband ; these were pledged either 
to kill him or die themselves. 

178 



iS^S- Mary SUiart. 179 

Such was the popularity of Mary at this time that the 
rebel army never exceeded twelve hundred, and the num- 
ber diminished every day, while hers increased. 

The queen reached Linlithgow in time to pass the night 
at her palace, and the next day she arrived at Stirling, 
whence she addressed a letter to Queen Elizabeth, inform- 
ing her that she was engaged in the suppression of a 
rebellion, and that, " being on the march with the king, 
my husband, against our rebels, I cannot write you a 
longer letter." Her object was to mention Darnley by 
his regal title, and to show Elizabeth that she was not 
discouraged nor dejected. 

Mary passed on to Glasgow on the 29th, expecting to 
meet the rebels there ; but warned by her approach with 
a formidable army, they had halted at Paisley, then a 
secluded village. The Earl of Argyll and the Due de 
Chatelherault had promised to meet Moray with their 
soldiers the next day at Hamilton, but they were so 
frightened at the queen's boldness that they failed him. 
Their majesties commenced their march from Glasgow in 
pursuit of the rebels before sunrise on the morning of the 
31st, in the midst of a terrible storm of wind and rain. 
It was with difficulty that the soldiers could proceed ; 
but the queen, by being always foremost, set them such 
an example of courage that they dared not falter. She 
kept her saddle many hours in spite of the bad weather 
and worse roads, and reached Callander House, drenched 
through and through with rain. Her rebels entered 
Edinburgh next day, but not in triumph ; for the new pro- 
vost, Alexander Erskine, fired on them from the castle bat- 
tery, and they decamped more quickly than they had come. 
If they had tarried another day, they would have had a 
royal salute from the queen and her men, for, hearing of 
their march to Edinburgh, she was advancing rapidly to 



I So Mary Stuart. 

attack them. She followed them towards Glasgow, but 
they continued to retreat ; and, after resting for nearly a 
week at Cruickstone Castle, the royal pair returned to 
Stirling. All the loyal nobles and gentlemen of Fife 
came to meet and escort their sovereign to St, Andrew's ; 
and on the way, she expelled from their castles all those 
who had aided the rebels, and obliged others to sign a 
bond, pledging themselves to defend her and her consort 
against Englishmen and rebels. To her honor it must be 
stated that only two men were hanged throughout the 
course of the rebellion. 

Queen INIary's energy and activity astonished her fol- 
lowers, and convinced them that she was capable of 
greater deeds than the suppression of a rebellion whose 
leaders dared not face her. When some of her nobles 
entreated her to be more careful of her health, and not 
to ride in bad weather, nor for so many hours at a time, 
she answered gayly, " I shall not rest from my toils until I 
have led you all to London." So heroic was her de- 
meanor, and so great was the admiration excited by her 
appearance, that even in the most unfriendly towns she 
was not obliged to fire a single volley. From Ireland 
she received the assurance that if she would send a force 
to support her partisans there, she might annex that 
island to her realm. Perceiving that she had been too 
hasty in believing Randolph's assertions of Mary's un- 
popularity, Elizabeth now made deceitful professions of 
sisterly affection, and offered to adjust the trouble be- 
tween the rebel lords and their sovereign. Mary replied: 
" If it please the Queen of England to send any person 
properly accredited to effect a reconciliation between her- 
self and me, by explaining the causes of displeasure that 
have unfortunately arisen, he shall be heartily welcome ; 
but if it be only for a pretence of interfering in the 



IS65- Mary Stuart. i8i 

affairs of my realm, with regard to what concerns me and 
my subjects alone, I wish to have it plainly understood 
that I will endure no such interference from the Queen of 
England or any other monarch, for I am perfectly able to 
chastise my rebels and bring them to reason." 

So great v/as Mary's indignation at the conduct of the 
rebel lords that she would listen to no intercession in 
their behalf, nor would she enter into any treaty, though 
she was often requested to do so. She could not restore 
to favor men who openly avowed that they were in arms 
against her husband, and declared that they were ready 
to proceed to any lengths rather than pay respect to him 
as king. 

On the 2oth of September the Earl of Bothwell had his 
first audience with their majesties at Holyrood, where he 
was graciously received by both. It will be remembered 
that this chieftain had been recalled-from exile because it 
had become necessary to strengthen the crown against 
the lords who were in the pay of Elizabeth ; and the Bor- 
derers over whom he held hereditary dominion were com- 
mitting all sorts of outrages, which he alone could suppress. 
The queen, therefore, appointed him her lieutenant of 
the Border ; Darnley opposed this step, and signified his 
pleasure that his father should have that position. But 
she carried her point, for she valued the safety of her 
realm more highly than she did the satisfaction of the pet- 
ulant youth for whose sake she was at war with her nobles. 
The following letter which she wrote to Queen Elizabeth 
the day before she took the field a second time, shows how 
necessary it was to have the Borders protected : — 

" Madame, my Sister, — Not only by the report of your 
ministers, but of all those with whom you have been, 
pleased to speak, I understand that you are offended, with 



1 82 Mary Stuart. 

just cause, against the king, my husband, and me ; and, 
what is worse, that your ministers on the Borders are 
threatening to put to fire and sword those of our subjects 
who wish, according to their duty, to assist us against our 
rebels, instead of according the aid I had hoped for from 
you, and which I protest before God I would have given 
to you had you been in like circumstances. Nevertheless, 
I cannot persuade myself that you, being so nearly related 
to me, would show so little regard to my cause as to place 
on an equality with me men in whom I am assured you will 
find in the end no more faith than I have done. And if 
you are pleased, which I cannot believe, to make common 
cause with my traitors, I shall regret to be compelled not 
to conceal from all the princes, our allies, this great 
wrong, which we are willing to impute to the fault of your 
officers, unless we have your plain declaration that it is 
so ; assuring you that if it is not, we shall remain as good 
neighbors as relations ought ever to be. Your affection- 
ate good sister and cousin, Marie R." 

The day this letter was despatched, Mary left Edin- 
burgh with her consort and her army. As many of her 
ladies had suffered from the hardships of her first 
campaign, she resolved to leave them at home this time, 
and Mary Seton, who never failed her royal mistress in 
times of trouble, was the only one who accompanied her. 

At the head of eighteen thousand men, her majesty 
entered Dumfries in triumph on the 12th of October; and 
the rebel lords fled across the English border to Carlisle. 
Now if Mary had been of a vindictive temper, she would 
have exercised it on the men of Dumfries, where her 
rebels had been sheltered for more than a month ; but no 
blood-stained scaffold marked her triumph, nor were the 
gates and towers of her palaces loaded with the heads and 



1565- Mary Stuart. 183 

mangled limbs of victims, for she was characteristically 
humane, compassionate, and peace-loving. Her bloodless 
victory over her foes being achieved, she disbanded her 
army, and returned with her husband to the metropolis. 

Finding that open violence would not answer his pur- 
pose, Moray now resorted to calumny, and, with the aid 
of Randolph and others, circulated by their letters to 
England the most malignant falsehoods about her char- 
acter. There was some truth in what they said about 
Darnley, for he had begun to neglect his consort, and left 
her ill in bed to enjoy himself at Fifeshire, with some of 
his gay companions. Indeed, he absented himself so often 
that Mary had a painful conflict between her duty to her 
realm and her respect for him. Either the business of 
her state would have to await the leisure and convenience 
of the truant boy king, or she must treat him as a nullity, 
by governing without his co-operation. She adroitly de- 
cided the matter thus : having promised that her hus- 
band's name should be affixed to all public acts, she had 
a stamp made with a fac-simile of his signature, and, after 
she had written her own name, David Riccio stamped 
that of her consort. Then, while Darnley was engaged 
with hawking and hunting, matters of importance were 
not delayed or wholly omitted. Of course one or two 
persons alone knew that the king had not actually signed 
the document, particularly as the stamp was used only 
when he was absent. The regal title that Mary Stuart 
had bestowed on Darnley entangled the business of gov- 
ernment with difficulties of a most embarrassing nature, 
but its worst feature was that it influenced the pride and 
excited the ambition of a petulant, selfish young man, 
who was neither grateful nor sensible. She often wished 
that the Earl of Lennox had never set foot in Scotland 
while she lived, for his influence over his son was so bad 



184 Mary Stuart. 

that she could never hope for happiness in her wedded 
life while he remained. 

[A. D. 1566.] Mary gave great offence to the earl, and 
seriously displeased her husband, by pardoning the Due 
de Chatelherault, for thus they were deprived of the earl- 
dom of Arran and the wealth of the Hamiltons, on whose 
fat forfeitures they had placed their affections. She was 
solicited on all sides to pardon Moray and the other rebel 
lords ; but she refused, because she knew that they were 
ready at any moment to enter into fresh plots against her. 
In the following year, when Rambouillet, the French 
ambassador, was on his way to invest Darnley with the 
Order of St. Michael, he stopped for a few days at Eliza- 
beth's court, to admit the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of 
Leicester to the same order. While there he was requested 
by the queen and others to intercede with Mary for the 
Scotch rebel lords, and he had a personal interview at 
Newcastle with Moray, who begged him to endeavor to 
obtain his pardon and recall, promising affection for his 
royal sister, and good conduct for the future, if she would 
restore him to favor. 

Mary had given signs of relenting, for she had ceased 
to speak of him with bitterness, and had prorogued Par- 
liament for the express purpose of annulling the acts of 
attainder. Yet, when sixteen of the Earl of Glencairn's 
friends came in a body, and offered on their knees a sup- 
plication in favor of that nobleman, Mary, unable to 
repress her indignation at the recollection of his treachery, 
tore the petition without reading it, and turned haughtily 
away without offering a reply. 

Some uneasiness was excited among zealous Protestants 
at this season, because of the attention the royal pair be- 
stowed on the observances of their religion. Darnley, 
his father, the Earl of Athol, and others, were regular 



K 



^566. Maiy Stuart. 185 

attendants at the mass, and on Candlemas Day they fol- 
lowed in the procession with three hundred men carrying 
lighted tapers. Darnley swore openly withal that he 
would have a mass again in St. Giles' Church ere long. 

Meanwhile Morton, the lord chancellor, was playing a 
double part. He recounted Darnley's follies to her 
majesty, and assured her of his unfitness to be intrusted 
with the power to do more mischief than he already pos- 
sessed. At the same time he piqued the pride of the boy 
husband by urging him to assert his superiority and to 
demand more authority in state affairs, and he aroused 
his jealousy by telling him that he was of less consequence 
in the government than David Riccio. Thus the silly 
fellow allowed himself to become the tool of those who 
were plotting his ruin, and took it upon himself to 
recall the banished lords without consulting the queen, 
merely as an evidence that he was not to be influenced 
by her. 

On Sunday, the loth of February, Darnley was invested 
with the French Royal Order of St. Michael, in the pres- 
ence of the queen and her court. The herald's fee on 
this occasion was Darnley's robe of crimson satin, lined 
with black velvet, and a chain worth two hundred crowns. 
Mary presented the ambassador. Monsieur de Rambouillet, 
in acknowledgment of the honor conferred on her consort, 
with a silver basin and ewer, two cups with covers, a large 
dish with a spoon of solid silver lined with gold, and two 
fine horses. That same evening there was a grand banquet, 
and afterwards a costly mask performed by the queen, 
her husband, David Riccio, and seven others, in rich and 
handsome costumes. Entertainments were continued in 
honor of the ambassador during the two following days, 
and the artillery fired a royal salute when he took his 
departure, on the 13th. 



1 86 Mary St?iart. 

The last festivities that ever took place at Holyrood 
under the auspices of Mary Stuart commenced on the 
24th of the same month, to celebrate the nuptials of the 
Earl of Bothwell with the Lady Jane Gordon, sister of 
the Earl of Huntley. As the lady was a member of the 
church of Rome, the queen desired that the marriage 
might be performed in her chapel, with the accompanying 
mass, but Bothwell positively refused. Nevertheless, 
their majesties honored the ceremony, and, as the groom 
was regarded as a faithful servant of the crown, he was 
treated with signal tokens of respect. The feasting, danc- 
ing, and tournaments were kept up during five days, and 
the queen presided over all the entertainments. 

Meanwhile the conspiracy for depriving her of her 
regal authority was actively progressing. Elizabeth had 
refused to consider Darnley the king-consort of Scotland, 
but through her spies she gave him reason to expect sup- 
port from her if he could be induced to make a bold 
attempt to wrest the regal authority from his wife. Riccio 
discovered that there was a wicked intrigue in agitation 
against the queen, and considered it his duty to warn her. 
At first she could not believe the dreadful piece of in- 
formation, but, having heard that a secret meeting of the 
suspected persons was to take place in her husband's 
apartment one night, she entered unexpectedly, and be- 
held signs of dismay and confusion on the countenances 
of the guilty men. Darnley assumed a lordly tone, and 
accused her of being too suspicious, and of listening too 
readily to spies and tale-bearers ; he roughly told her, be- 
sides, that she had no business to watch him, and that she 
had intruded herself upon him and his friends, when she 
was not wanted. She proudly withdrew, determined never 
to enter her husband's chambers again ; her manner 
towards him was thenceforth cold and disdainful, and, 



iS66. 



Mary Stuart. 



187 



although this was caused by his own unkindness, Darnley 
appeared very much injured, and pretended that he be- 
lieved she loved somebody else better than she did him. 

Now, as the only person with whom the queen conferred 
in private was the ugly, deformed, little, old Riccio, her 




husband chose him for a victim. The nature of this 
Italian's office, which he filled with rare skill, rendered it 
necessary that Mary should see him almost daily alone, 
and it suited the conspirators to make the royal consort 
suppose himself jealous. The truth of the matter was 
that this faithful servant sealed his own doom the hour 
he revealed to the queen the plot that was being formed 



1 88 Mary Stuart. 

against her, and some pretext had to be found for shed- 
ding his blood. The nobles wanted to be rid of him be- 
cause it was not agreeable to have a foreigner so high in 
their sovereign's favor, and to the people in general he 
was an object of suspicion and ill will on account of his 
religion. His enemies took pains to circulate a report 
that he was a pensioner of the pope, and that he was 
using his influence with Mary for the overthrow of the 
Reformed Church. This may have been true, but as yet 
he had done nothing to prove this, and his murder was 
merely the opening move in the attack on the queen. It 
was easy to obtain the co-operation of Darnley, because 
he had become a dissipated sot, and the good fellows 
with whom he drank and gambled moulded the weak- 
minded youth at will. Having consented to recall the 
banished lords, the secret articles were drawn up by 
Darnley in which it was stipulated that they were to pro- 
cure for him the crown matrimonial of Scotland, and that, 
in the event of the queen's death, he should be declared 
successor, and his father the next heir after himself, and 
that the lords should pursue, slay, and extirpate all who 
should offer opposition. 

Lennox undertook to go to England, to assure Moray 
and the other outlaws that they might return in safety. 
It must be remembered that one reason why Mary had 
refused to pardon her brother was that he had conspired 
against the life of Darnley, who was now offering pardon 
on condition that he would assist in dethroning her and 
putting the crown on his own head. Lennox, though a 
proscribed outlaw in England, was allowed to enter that 
realm and proceed to Newcastle without the slightest 
hindrance, because the government was well aware of all 
that was going on, and encouraged it. 

Meanwhile, the queen, attended by her train, her privy 



iS66. Mary Stuart. 189 

council, and her principal ministers, retired with her hus- 
band to Seton House for a brief interval, which she 
employed in preparing her speech for the opening of 
Parliament, and arranging the necessary measures to be 
adopted. Her husband watched her proceedings and 
reported them three times a day to Ruthven and other 
traitors in the court. 

On the 6th of March, the royal pair returned to Holy- 
rood House, to meet the Parliament on the following day. 
The queen had arranged that her husband should ride 
with her in state to the hall in the Tolbooth, and be 
introduced by her as her consort, in order that he might 
be formally recognized as king, and might take his place 
beside her on the throne, and be regularly invested 
with those honors which at that time he only received 
through her favor. She knew that this form must be 
gone through before Parliament would appropriate a 
revenue to her impatient husband, or supply the funds for 
the coronation he had been childishly clamoring for. 
But Darnley's head was so turned by the promises of the 
conspirators that he alone should reign over the realm, 
that he refused to appear in an inferior position even for 
a moment, and protested that the queen should not con- 
duct him into the Tolbooth, but that he would lead her, 
and that, unless he were allowed to act as the sovereign 
of Scotland, by opening the Parliament himself, he would 
not condescend to be present at the ceremonial. As it 
was impossible for the queen to accede to so absurd a de- 
mand, the petulant boy rode away to Leith, with seven or 
eight of his intimate companions ; and Mary took her 
seat on the throne, as she had done when she was a 
widow. Nothing could have been more insulting than her 
husband's public marks of unkindness and disrespect ; but 
she bore them with dignity and patience, not one of her 



IQO Mary Stuart. 

lords suspecting the agony of the cruel wound she had 
received. 

Darnley had thought that his absence would put a stop 
to the opening of Parliament ; and when he found of how 
little consequence he was in the matter, he was angrier 
than before, and became doubly anxious for the success 
of the plot in which he was interested. Riccio was not 
the only person who was to suffer, by any means, for the 
intended victims were the Earls of Bothwell, Huntley, and 
Athol, Lords Fleming and Livingstone, and Sir James 
Balfour, all of whom were to be either hanged or stabbed, 
while several of the queen's ladies were to be drowned. 
If her majesty survived the horrors of the tragedy, which 
it was hoped she would not, she was either to be slain, 
or imprisoned in Stirling Castle until she agreed that her 
husband should reign as sole sovereign of Scotland. 

The day appointed by Darnley for the dreadful deed 
was March 9. Just at dusk on that day, five hundred 
men, some having armor under their ordinary clothing, 
the rest outwardly armed, assembled in the Abbey Close, 
and about the queen's palace of Holyrood. The Earl of 
Morton introduced a hundred and fifty of those he 
thought fittest for the purpose into the inner court. He 
then ordered the gates to be locked, and took possession 
of the keys. This excited no suspicion, because he was 
lord chancellor, and the queen's inferior servants were 
too loyal to believe that the titled ones were traitors. 
Morton then went to Darnlej^, and told him all was 
ready. Having partaken of a supper with Lord Lindsay, 
George Douglas, and Lord Ruthven, who had taken care 
that he should drink plenty of wine, Darnley was ready 
also, though he could not stand steadily. His suite of 
apartments was on the ground floor, just under those of 
his royal spouse, to which he could ascend whenever he 



1566- Mary SUiart. 191 

pleased, by means of a narrow spiral staircase, through a 
private passage, to a door opening into her bedroom, con- 
cealed behind the tapestry. Of this door he alone pos- 
sessed the key. He must have been intoxicated indeed 
to so far forget his duty as a gentleman and a husband as 
to abuse this privilege, by introducing a murderous band 
of traitors through this means into his wife's private 
chamber. Yet it is said that this was his own proposition, 
and that he told his fellow-traitors, " I will have open the 
door, and keep her in talk until you come in " ; only one 
person at a time being able to ascend the narrow stairs. 

As the queen was not well, she was supping privately 
in a small room, twelve feet by ten, in company with 
Jane, Countess of Argyll, Lord Robert Stuart, Beton (one 
of the masters of the household), Arthur Erskine, her 
French doctor, and several other persons. Riccio was 
present also ; but he stood at the sideboard, eating some- 
thing that had been sent to him from the queen's table, 
which was in accordance with the customs of the court at 
that period. 

At about seven o'clock, Darnley led the way up the pri- 
vate staircase to the queen's bedroom, and entered alone 
the cabinet where she was eating. No surprise was 
manifested at his appearance ; on the contrary, Mary 
treated him as a welcome guest ; and when he placed 
himself beside her in the double chair of state, one half 
of which had remained unoccupied, she leaned over, and 
kissed him affectionately, while he put his arm around her 
waist in a deceitfully loving manner. " My lord, have 
you supped ? " inquired the queen. " I thought you 
would have finished your supper by this time." He mur- 
mured a sort of apology for interrupting a meal which 
he did not intend to share ; and while he spoke, Ruthven, 
pale, ghastly, and careworn, intruded himself upon the 



192 Mary Stuart. 

scene. The evil reputation of this nobleman, both as a 
sorcerer and an assassin, had from the first rendered him 
an object of horror to Mary ; besides, he had been a 
sworn enemy to her mother. But he was Darnley's uncle 
by marriage, and she was compelled to treat him with 
civility. She knew that he had long been confined to his 
bed with an incurable disease ; and, as she had heard that 
very day that he was dying, she concluded, from his wild, 
haggard aiopearance, and the strange fashion in which he 
burst into her presence, that he had escaped, from his 
chamber in a fit of delirium. Under the folds of his loose 
gown she could see armor ; he brandished a dagger in 
his hand, he had a steel casque over his nightcap, and, 
altogether, a more frightful apparition could scarcely be 
imagined. Mary's first impulse was to scream, but, recol- 
lecting herself, she kindly addressed the invalid with 
these words : " My lord, I was coming to visit you in your 
chamber, having been told that you were very ill, and now 
you enter my presence in your armor. What does this 
mean ? " 

Ruthven flung himself into a chair, and, with a sarcastic 
sneer, replied, " I have, indeed, been very ill, but I find 
myself well enough to come here for your good." The 
queen could not remove her gaze from his face, and 
asked : " What good can you do me ; you come not in 
the fashion of one who meaneth well." "There is no 
harm intended to your grace, nor to any one but yonder 
poltroon, David ; it is he with whom I have to speak," 
replied Ruthven. " What hath he done ? " asked the 
queen. "Inquire of your husband, madam," was the 
reply. She turned to Darnley in surprise ; he had risen, 
and was leaning on the back of her chair. " What is the 
meaning of this } " she demanded. He faltered, affected 
iq^norance, and said : " I know nothing of the matter." 



1566. Mary Stuart. 193 

Thereupon, the queen assumed a tone of authority, and 
ordered Ruthven to leave her presence under penalty of 
treason. As he paid no attention to her, some of the 
gentlemen attempted.^ to expel him forcibly. " Lay no 
hands on me, for I will not be handled," he exclaimed, 
brandishing his sword. Then another of his party ap- 
peared, with a horse-pistol in his hand, and he was im- 
mediately followed by several more. " What is the mean- 
ing of this ? " Mary reiterated ; " do you seek my life ? " 

" No, madam," said Ruthven, " but we will have out 
yonder villain, Davie," making a pass at him as he spoke. 
The queen arrested the blow by seizing his wrist and 
placing herself between the ferocious lord and the de- 
fenceless little foreigner, who had retreated into the 
recess of the bow-window, where he tremblingly stood, 
holding in his hand a dagger, which he had neither the 
skill nor the courage to use. " If my secretary has been 
guilty of any misdemeanor," said the queen, " I promise 
to exhibit him before the lords of the Parliament, that he 
may be dealt with according to the usual forms of justice." 
" Here is the means of justice, madam," cried one of the 
assassins, producing a rope. " Madam," said David, in an 
undertone to the queen, " I am a dead man." " Fear 
not," she exclaimed aloud ; " the king will never suffer 
you to be slain in my presence ; neither can he forget 
your faithful services." The king stood dumbfounded, 
and did not know what to do ; but he was in the hands of 
those who would not permit him to draw back. *' Sir ! " 
cried Ruthven, " take the queen, your wife and sovereign, 
to you." This was to remind the unhappy tool that he 
was to perform the promise he had made, to use force, if 
necessary, in a personal struggle with the woman who by 
every law of nature, as well as by his oath of allegiance, 
he was bound to defend and cherish. 



194 Mary Stuart. 

Morton and eighty of his followers, impatient of the 
delay of the king and his party, ascended the grand stair- 
case in full force and broke open the doors of her majesty's 
presence chamber, while her servants fled in terror, with- 
out venturing the slightest show of resistance to the ruf- 
fianly band. They made their way to the bed-chamber, 
where Riccio's struggle for life had been prolonged by the 
resistance of the queen and the irresolution of her hus- 
band. The table, which had hitherto served as a barrier 
to prevent the near approach of the assailants, was now 
flung violently over upon the queen by the crowd rushing 
forward to their work of death. Lady Argyll caught up 
one of the lighted candles as it was falling, and thus pre- 
served her royal sister and herself from being enveloped 
in flames. That additional horror was not needed to 
increase the confusion. Mary was for a moment over- 
come with surprise, terror, and pain, for she was hurt by 
the falling of the table and the heavy plate against her 
person ; she would, moreover, have been knocked down 
by a shock so rude and unexpected, and probably crushed 
to death beneath the feet of the inhuman traitors who 
were raging around her, had not Ruthven taken her in his 
arms and put her into those of Darnley, telling her at the 
same time not to be alarmed, for there was no harm meant 
to her, and all that was done was her husband's deed. 
"The man who had come," as she exclaimed, in the 
bitterness of her heart, " to betray me with a Judas kiss." 
Her indignant sense of the outrage offered to her both as 
a queen and a woman upheld her, and she did not swoon 
as was expected. She burst, instead, into a torrent of in- 
dignant reproaches, and called the unmannerly intruders 
" traitors and villains," ordered them to leave under 
penalty of the severest punishment, and declared her 
resolution to protect her faithful servant. "We will have 




MURDER OF RICCIO. 



1566. Mary Stuart. 197 

out that gallant ! " cried Ruthven, pointing to the fright- 
ened secretary, who shrank back for refuge behind the 
stately figure of the queen, while she continued fearlessly 
to confront the throng of ruffians. 

" Let him go, madam ; they will not hurt him," ex- 
claimed Darnley, at last. " Save my life, madam ! Save 
my life, for God's sake ! " shrieked Riccio, clinging to her 
robe for protection. In vain did she try the eloquence of 
tears, entreaty, and expostulation. She reminded her 
subjects of their duty to her as queen, of the considera- 
tion due to her sex, and added that it would be to their 
honor, as well as her own, that her secretary should be 
tried according to the forms of justice. " Justitia, jus- 
titia ! " screamed the wretched Riccio, catching at the 
word in his despair. Just then George Douglas reached 
over the queen's shoulder, and stabbed him with such 
force that the blood bespattered her garments, and the 
dagger remained in the side of poor David. Others fol- 
fowed the example ; and, Darnley having unlocked the 
grasp with which he clung to the queen's robe, he was 
dragged across the room, while crying for mercy and 
justice. Mary would still have struggled to save him, but 
Darnley forced her into a chair, and held her so tightly 
that she could not stir. One Andrew Kerr, a ferocious 
fanatic, presented a cocked pistol to her side, and, with a 
repulsive oath, told her he would shoot her dead if she 
offered resistance. The weapon was struck aside by the 
hand of Darnley. Still another attempt on the life of 
the defenceless queen was made by Patrick Bellenden, who 
aimed a thrust at her bosom, under cover of the tumult 
caused by the attack on Riccio ; but his purpose was dis- 
covered and prevented by the gallant young English refu- 
gee, Anthony Standen, the queen's page, who, with equal 
courage and presence of mind, parried the blow by striking 



198 Mary Stuart. 

the rapier aside with a torch which he happened to have 
in his hand. 

As the rufifians were dragging Riccio through the queen's 
chamber, he clung to the bedstead until one of them 
forced him to relinquish his hold by dealing him a violent 
blow on the wrist with the butt end of his gun. Such was 
their ferocity that they wounded each other in their eager- 
ness to plunge their swords and daggers into the body of 
their hapless victim, he all the time uttering the most 
agonizing cries, while the queen exclaimed, " Oh, poor 
David, my good and faithful servant, may the Lord have 
mercy on your soul ! " 

Darnley had consented to the crime, and had given the 
treason the sanction of his presence ; but when the mo- 
ment of action arrived, his spirit revolted from the bar- 
barity of the butchery. As a prince and a gentleman, he 
could not force his hand to plunge a knife into the unfor- 
tunate creature, with whom he had lived on terms of 
familiar friendship. His heart failed him, and he would 
have drawn back ; but it was too late. With the cords 
that had been brought for the purpose of hanging several 
of the queen's officers, Riccio's body was bound, and 
dragged to the private staircase, where it was hurled down 
to the king's lobby, and there despoiled of its rich decora- 
tions, — particularly a costly diamond, which Moray had 
sent him from England to purchase pardon for himself. 

Mary and Darnley were left together, and the key of 
the door was turned to prevent either from interfering in 
the disposal of the corpse. During this brief pause, 
Mary, exhausted by the agonizing conflict she had en- 
dured, wept silently, while Darnley kept protesting that 
no harm was intended. He had said this at first, and ne 
repeated the meaningless words even after the cries of the 
murdered victim were hushed in death. 



1566. Mary Stuart. ^99 

One of Darnley's equerries presently stole into the 
room- and the queen roused herself to inquire whether 
David had been put into ward, and where. " Madam, it 
is useless to speak of David," replied the man, "for he is 
dead " This was verified by one of the agitated ladies, 
who "rushed in to say that she had seen the mangled 
remains of the murdered man, and that people said every- 
thin- had been done by the king's order. "Ah, traitor, 
and^son of a traitor," exclaimed Mary, turning towards 
her perfidious husband, "is this the recompense thou 
givest to her who hath covered thee with benefits, and 
raised thee to honors so great ? " Then, overpowered by 
the bitterness of her feelings, she swooned. The bois- 
terous re-entrance of Ruthven and his savage followers 
aroused her to consciousness. They came, with blood- 
stained hands and garments, to rate, menace, and insult 
their queen. Ruthven flung himself into a chair, and 
called for drink, complaining that he was prostrated by 
illness " Is this your malady ? " asked Mary, with sarcas- 
tic emphasis, as he drained the goblet which one of her 
pages filled and brought to him. "God forbid your 
majesty had such ! " he rejoined. The queen deigned no 
further remarks, but left the room, followed by her hus- 
band, and passed into the bed-chamber, no longer sacred 
to her privacy.' The frightful state in which it had been 
left by the butchers, who had chosen that spot for their 
work, may be imagined. 

Mary blamed her husband for being, as his accomplices 
had boasted, the author of so foul a deed, and began sor- 
rowfully to reason with him, and to inquire into his mo- 
tives. " My lord, why have you caused this wicked deed to 
be done to me," she asked, "considering that I took you 
from low estate and made you my husband ? What offence 
have I given you that you should do me such shame ? " 



200 Mary Stuart. 

Darnley then proceeded to address such coarse, brutal 
language to his wife, in the presence of Ruthven and 
others, who had unceremoniously intruded themselves 
into the bed-chamber, that she indignantly told him 
she would live with him as his wife no longer. Ruthven 
thereupon favored her with a lecture on conjugal duty, 
and added that the more angry she appeared, the 
worse the world would judge her. Mary's high spirit 
quailed before the ruffian who dared thus to insult 
her. She dashed the angry tears from her eyes, and 
said, " I trust that God, who beholdeth this from the 
high heavens, will avenge my wrongs, and will move 
those who reign after me to root out you and your 
treacherous posterity." 

While she spoke, there arose a mingled clamor and 
clash of weapons from the court and lobbies below, and 
Lord Gray, one of the conspirators, knocked loudly at 
the queen's chamber door, to announce that the Earls of 
Huntley, Bothwell, Caithness, and Sutherland, Lords 
Fleming, Livingstone, and Tullibardine, their officers and 
servants, were fighting against the Earl of Morton and his 
party. Darnley offered to go down ; but Ruthven, who 
had seen reason for distrusting him, stopped him, and 
said : " No, I will go instead ; do you remain where you 
are and entertain her majesty meanwhile," and then stag- 
gered out, supported by two of his confederates. The part 
assigned to Darnley from the first was to guard his wife, 
whom it was intended to keep as a close prisoner ; but he 
had in reality no more freedom of action than she had. 
The royal pair were again left alone during a few agitat- 
ing moments of suspense. Darnley took this opportunity 
to inform the queen that he had sent for the Earl of 
Moray and other rebel lords to return. She answered : 
" It is no fault of mine that they have been so long away ; 



1566. Ma7y Stuart. 201 

but for fear of angering you, I would have been well con- 
tent they should come home again." 

The enterprise for the queen's rescue was headed by 
Bothwell and Huntley, who had gathered a force from the 
kitchen and other parts of the royal househould, armed 
with spits, cleavers, knives, broom-sticks, and whatever 
other weapons they could find to drive out the invaders ; 
but, finding themselves greatly outnumbered, they retired 
into the gallery, where a parley took place between the 
leaders and Ruthven, he inviting them to a conference in 
Bothwell's chamber. There he made an attempt to 
induce them to join the conspiracy, by telling them that 
it was all the doings of the king, and that the banished 
lords had been recalled, and would arrive that night. He 
added the assurance that all disputes should be made up 
between them and Moray and Argyll to their satisfaction. 
Thereupon they shook hands and drank together. The 
Earl of Athol was very angry at the proceedings, and 
sharply reproved Ruthven for being party to such a deed ; 
but Ruthven said : " It is the king's affair, and I should 
have let you into the secret had I not feared that you 
■would reveal it to the queen." Athol was so indignant 
that he demanded permission to leave the palace and to 
return forthwith to his own country. Ruthven tried to 
pacify him, and spoke in the most flattering terms to all 
the lords ; but Bothwell, Huntley, and Sir James Balfour 
did not trust him, and, knowing that they were marked 
men, they lost no time in effecting their escape by letting 
themselves down with ropes from a back window into a 
little garden behind the palace. 

Ruthven unceremoniously intruded himself for the third 
time into the queen's bedroom, for the purpose of announc- 
ing to Darnley the failure of the attempt of her faithful 
servants to release her. At the same time he besan to 



202 Mary Stuart. 

taunt her with having admitted into her council Bothwell 
and Huntley, whom he called traitors, and accused her of 
tyranny and bad government. 

Mary was nevertheless beloved by the people, of which 
she presently received a most gratifying proof. The 
rumor of her distress having reached the Provost of 
Edinburgh, he caused the alarm bell to be rung, and not 
less than five hundred armed citizens answered the sum- 
mons, and hastened with him to the palace as soon as 
they were told that their queen was in danger. But she 
was not permitted to approach the windows, for Ruthven 
and the other assassins brutally threatened, if she at- 
tempted to speak to the people assembled in front of the 
palace, they would cut her to pieces and throw her over 
the walls. Her base husband was thrust forward in her 
place ; he opened the window and bade the provost pass 
home with his company, as nothing was amiss and the 
queen was quite merry. "Let us see our queen and hear 
her speak for herself," was the rejoinder. 

" Provost, know you not that I am king } " asked 
Darnley, in a haughty tone ; " I command you and your 
company to go home." The crowd were then convinced 
that Mary was a prisoner in the hands of her ungrateful 
husband and his party, and they became so excited at such 
an outrage that they spoke of putting to fire and sword all 
within the palace who were opposed to her. Then the 
conspirators told them that it was only a quarrel with her 
French servants ; but, finding that this was not satisfying, 
they further declared that the Italian secretary was slain 
because he had been detected in a conspiracy with the pope, 
the King of Spain, and other foreign rulers for the purpose 
of destroying the true religion, and introducing popery 
again into Scotland. On being assured that the queen 
was well and in no danger, the people quietly dispersed 



^S^^- Mary Stiiaj't. 203 

Ruthven then said to the queen : " The banished lords 
have been sent for by his majesty the king, and will 
return on the morrow to take part with us against your 
grace." Mary significantly asked what kindness there 
was between him and Moray, for it was notorious that 
Moray had told his royal sister that Ruthven was a 
sorcerer, and had urged her to punish him. " Remember 
you what the Earl of Moray would have had me do to 
you for giving me that ring ? " she asked. Not being able 
to deny a fact that everybody knew, he merely remarked 
that he would bear no ill will for that cause, but would 
forgive him and all others for God's sake ; and as for that 
ring, it had no more virtue than another ring, but was a 
little ring with a pointed diamond in it. " But do you 
not remember that you said it had power to keep me from 
poisoning } " He made no response, and she inquired : 
" What offence have I done to be thus handled ? " " Ask 
the king, your husband," he returned. " No, I prefer to 
ask it of you," said Mary. "Madam, if it would please 
your majesty, that you have had this long time a number 
of perverse persons, and especially David, a strange 
Italian, who hath ruled and guided the country without 
the advice of the nobility and council, to the injury of the 
banished noblemen." 

" Were you not one of my council," asked she, " and 
would you not have declared it if I had done anything 
amiss ? " 

"Your majesty would not listen to such a thing; but 
when you called your council together, you did things by 
yourself with the advice of your private officers, although 
your nobility were at the pains and the expense." " Well, 
you find great fault with me," replied the queen ; " I will 
be content to set down my crown before the Lords of the 
Articles, and, if they find that I have offended, to put it on 



204 Mary Stuart. 

whose head they choose." A short discussion on this 
point followed, Darnley taking no part in it, until Ruthven 
observed that the queen was so ill that she could scarcely 
speak ; he then left her, taking Darnley with him, but not 
until he had put a strict guard over her majesty. 

All that night she remained ill and alone, not a woman 
of her household being permitted to approach her cham- 
ber. Early in the morning, as she stood at her window, 
she saw Sir James Melville in the court, and called out to 
him to help her. He asked what power he had to do so, 
and she answered : " Go to the Provost of Edinburgh 
and bid him convene the town with speed, and come to 
release me from the hands of these traitors ; but run fast, 
or they will stop you." He executed the errand with all 
speed ; but as his interference had been so useless on the 
preceding night, the provost did not know what to do. 

Meanwhile, Darnley had ordered a proclamation to be 
made at the market-cross, that none of the people, except- 
ing Protestants, should be permitted to leave their houses, 
and he commanded the provost to arm a strong guard for 
the purpose of enforcing obedience. 

The queen was kept in such close captivity that when 
Darnley sent his master of the horse, Sir William Stan- 
den, in the morning, to inquire after her health, he was not 
allowed to pass the guard stationed at her chamber door, 
without an express order from the rebel lords, who were 
carrying matters with a high hand. This startled Darnley, 
who determined to visit his consort himself. He found 
her in her disordered room, unattended, and so ill from 
terror lest Ruthven should steal in to kill her that he 
promised to let her ladies go to her. But willing though 
he might have been to grant this favor, he was not at 
liberty to do so, until he had gained the permission of 
Ruthven and Morton, whose puppet he now was, and they 



1 5^6. Mary Stuart. 205 

objected because they feared that through her ladies Mary 
might find means of communicating with her nobles. How- 
ever, Darnley had given his word ; so, after considerable 
persuasion on his part, they pretended to consent. Several 
hours later, when he went to his consort's apartment, he 
was surprised to find her still quite alone and in great 
mental and physical distress, piteously weeping, and com- 
plaining that none of her ladies, either Scotch or French, 
had been permitted to come to her. Darnley now began 
to grow uneasy, and sent word to Ruthven and Morton 
that it was his pleasure that the queen's ladies should be 
allowed to come to her assistance. 

Always loyal and true, these ladies were delighted to 
get back to the service of their mistress, and even risked 
their own safety in the offices they performed for her. 
Mary Livmgstone contrived, with her husband's aid, to 
get from David Riccio's chamber the black box containing 
the queen's secret foreign correspondence and the keys of 
her various ciphers — a matter of the utmost importance ; 
and some of the other ladies conveyed letters to the Earls 
of Athol, Argyll, and Bothwell. One of them was also em- 
ployed to arrange with Sir James Melville that he should 
do his best to propitiate Moray on his arrival, and to bring 
him at once to the queen. 

Ruthven and his people, meanwhile, kept a strict watch 
on the queen and her devoted female band, and strictly 
forbade any of the latter to pass out " muffled," because it 
was feared that thus the captive might make her escape. 
Darnley placed a guard at the chamber door, with orders 
to let no one go by in mufifler and hood ; but he was pres- 
ently informed that the ladies paid no attention to his 
decree, and positively refused to pass out of the queen's 
chamber unmuffled. He then expressed his intention to 
spend the night with his wife, in order to watch her him- 



2o6 Mary Stuart. 

self. But as his dictatorial counsellors feared nothing 
more than a reconciliation between the unfortunate pair, 
it was considered expedient to introduce a debate about 
the crown matrimonial, as this was the sore subject that 
had caused Darnley's jealousy and distrust. 

Ruthven and Morton now demanded an audience of 
the queen, which, in the circumstances, she had no power 
to refuse, and asked her whether she intended that her 
husband should be crowned. She replied : " I have 
never refused to honor my husband to the utmost of my 
power ; but the persons to whom he now gives his confi- 
dence have always dissuaded me from doing so." Mor- 
ton quailed at this, because he had been most eager in 
representing to his royal mistress the danger of trusting a 
man of Darnley's miserable disposition with more power ; 
but he coolly urged her to bestow on him the crown matri- 
monial now. 

" Seeing that I am a prisoner," prudently observed 
Mary, " all that I might do would be invalid, and foreign 
princes would say that my subjects had given laws to 
their sovereign — an example very improper to establish." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

[A. D. 1566.] On the loth of March, the Earl of 
Moray, and the other banished lords, arrived upon the 
scene, escorted by a thousand horsemen, under the com- 
mand of Lord Home. They presented themselves at the 
palace gates, and were graciously received by Darnley, 
who had recalled them with the promise of pardon for 
their treason. As soon as the queen heard that her 
brother had arrived, she sent for him, and flung herself 
into his arms with an outburst of feeling, kissing and 
embracing him, and exclaiming, in her innocence, " Oh, 
my brother! if only you had been here, you never would 
have allowed me to be so cruelly handled." She was 
completely deceived by the tears he shed when he beheld 
her doleful condition, for she had no reason to suspect 
that his name stood foremost in the league for the murder 
of Riccio, for bestowing the crown on her husband, and 
for consigning herself to prison, possibly to death. 

Mary told her brother that she would have recalled him 
long before, but for her fear of displeasing others, and 
she added that if he would return to his allegiance, and 
be a good subject, she would be to him all he could 
require. He protested his innocence of ever having had 
evil intentions towards her, pretended to be very sorry for 
her sufferings, and promised to do all he could to restore 
her to liberty. 

That very night, he met his confederates, to consider 
whether the queen should live or die, and, when it came 

207 



2o8 Mary Stuart. 

to his turn to vote, he coolly favored her death, saying: 
" We have gone too far to recede with safety, for we can 
expect no grace from the queen, therefore we ought to 
take measures for self-preservation." Then a debate 
arose as to the number of days that should be granted to 
her, the more prudent of the party preferring that she 
should be removed to a place of stricter confinement. 

Darnley was not present throughout this meeting, but 
he heard enough to convince him of the error he had 
committed, and it was soon clearly demonstrated to him 
that the real head of the party was Moray, whom he 
thoroughly hated. He now saw that he had been a dupe, 
and that the purpose of the revolution had not been for 
his own elevation, but for that of Moray. 

Conscience-stricken at what he had done and at the 
possibility of the atrocious deed that might ensue, Darn- 
ley sought the chamber of his wife. She rose to meet 
him, and with mournful earnestness thus addressed him : 
"Alas, sir, wherefore is it thus that you requite me for 
having loved you above all the men in the world .'' Why 
is it that you have torn yourself from my love, to join our 
mutual foes ? Think not that you will escape from their 
bloody hands after they have caused you to slay me, who 
ought to be so dear to you ; for you will be overwhelmed 
in my ruin, having no other hold on the realm of Scotland 
but what you derive from me." 

Darnley's heart was touched ; he threw himself at her 
feet, and besought her to forgive his crimes and to restore 
him to her love, offering, if she would, to do anything she 
desired. To her honor it must be recorded that the first 
piece of advice she gave him was that he should, above 
all things, endeavor to appease the wrath of the Almighty 
by penitence and prayer, that he might obtain forgiveness 
where it was most requisite to seek for mercy. As for her 



1566. 



Mary Stuart. 



209 



own forgiveness, that she most frankly accorded, she said, 
turning upon him a look of love and tenderness. Darnley 
now revealed all the horrible details of the plot in which 
he had acted an important part, and added : " I fear that 
your own life is even now in danger, unless you can find 
some means of making your escape." 

Mary then confided to her husband that she had 
entered into an arrangement with Bothwell and Huntley, 




^li;0^'^\^ 



whereby she was to be let down in a chair attached to 
ropes, from the clock-tower, into the court below. Darn- 
ley dissuaded her from attempting anything so dangerous, 
and promised to provide safer means for her escape. As 
an earnest of his good intentions, he tried to dismiss the 
four-and-twenty armed men who guarded the chamber 
door, but found that he was not able to enforce obedience 
to his commands. He was, in fact, as much a prisoner 
within the walls of Holyrood as Mary, though he was 
permitted to wander through more apartments. That 



2IO Mary Stuart. 

night his wine was drugged, and he slept heavily until six 
o'clock in the morning. He suspected the truth at once, 
and went to explain to the queen, who, he found, had 
spent the night in an agony of suspense, because he had 
not kept his promise. During this interview he advised 
her to grant an amnesty, not only to the banished earls, 
but to all those who had been engaged in the murder of 
Riccio, and she expressed her willingness to do so if he 
thought it for the best. Darnley was so pleased at this 
that he hastened to inform Ruthven and Morton, who 
listened with uneasiness to this evidence of friendship 
between the royal pair. " It is all talk," they said ; " she 
has been trained in the court of France, and does not 
know the value of a promise." " Now, will you let me 
alone ? " asked Darnley, impatiently ; " I will warrant to 
bring all to a good end." 

At nine o'clock, having made his state toilet, Darnley 
returned to the queen's room, and they conversed together 
as familiarly and affectionately as though nothing had 
occurred to divide them. Darnley advised her to appear 
resigned, to use no sharp words, and to promise every- 
thing the conspirators demanded, adding: "for when once 
at liberty you can revoke all that you are constrained by 
fear to do." He passed most of the day with his 
consort, who, by his advice, received the rebel lords, and 
heard them take their oaths of obedience and good 
behavior for the future. 

At six o'clock in the evening, Darnley went down to 
take supper with the lords, whom he engaged in earnest 
conversation about their lands, while his trustworthy master 
of the horse, Sir William Standen, waited on her majesty, 
to arrange with her the time and manner of escape. He 
had already provided horses ; the difficulty now was to 
get rid of the guard. The king again proposed to the 



1566. Mary Stuart. 211 

lords that they should be removed ; but they objected, 
saying, " You may do as you please, but it is sore against 
our wills ; for we fear that all is deceit towards us, and 
that the queen will get away shortly, and take you with 
her, either to the Castle of Edinburgh or Dunbar." 

Fortunately, and for a wonder, Darnley kept his 
temper ; and he had his father to back him ; for, having 
an eye to the crown for his son, and the succession for 
himself, Lennox pleaded that the best and only way to 
manage the queen was through her affections ; and, there- 
fore, it was desirable that his son should pretend to be 
fond of her. Darnley had not sufficiently trusted his 
father to inform him of his reconciliation with the queen, 
nor of his intention to manage her escape that night. 

At last it was arranged that her majesty should hold a 
conference with all the lords ; and when they were as- 
sembled, she told them that she would go in the morning 
to the Tolbooth, and there, by consent of Parliament, 
would in due form grant pardon to everybody, and as a 
pledge she drank to each. This was the cup of peace, 
which cemented every bargain in Scotland. 

Having made this concession, the queen requested that 
the keys of her palace should be delivered to her servants, 
and that her bedroom should be left to the care of her 
own officials, the same as it was wont to be, and said, 
" For the last two nights I have not been able to rest." 
The king facetiously promised to be her keeper himself 
for that night, and to take very good care of her if they 
would rid the palace of strangers and trust her to his 
hands. Lord Ruthven reluctantly consented, saying, 
" Whatever bloodshed or mischief ensue shall fall on the 
head of the king and his posterity." 

So they all left and went to the house of Morton, where 
they took supper, not one of them placing the slightest 



212 Mary Stuart. 

reliance in the promises of the queen ; but they thought 
her too ill and weak, after two days and nights of excite- 
ment and sleeplessness, to attempt an escape. 

In order to avoid suspicion, their majesties both went 
to bed, but rose two hours after midnight. The queen 
was attended by only one maid, named Margaret Car- 
wood ; and she was assisted by one Bastian, whom Mar- 
garet afterwards married. The party stealthily descended 
a secret staircase to a gate leading through the ceme- 
tery of the royal chapel. At the outer gate of the 
cemetery. Sir William Standen was waiting with the 
king's horse. The queen was lifted up behind Arthur 
Erskine, her equerry, he being mounted on a swift horse, 
provided with a pillion, for her use. Lord Traquair, the 
captain of the guard, took the maid behind him. Sir 
Walter Standen and Bastian got on their horses ; and the 
little cavalcade moved forward, under shadow of the 
night, to Seton House, their first and only resting-place. 
Lord Seton awaited the fugitive sovereigns with two 
hundred armed cavaliers ready to escort them on their 
journey to Dunbar. 

After this, the party rode with such speed that they 
arrived at Dunbar before sunrise ; and the queen de- 
manded admittance to her fortress. The warder's chal- 
lenge was answered by the startling announcement, 
" Their majesties, the king and queen." Now, as the 
warder had heard that Holyrood was occupied by the 
rebel lords who had slain the secretary, and imprisoned 
the queen, with the intention of placing her husband on 
the throne, he was considerably puzzled to find that the 
royal pair had eloped together. He did not dare to raise 
the portcullis until he had consulted the castellan, and, as 
this official was sleejDing at a house a short distance off, 
the fugitives were kept waiting in the bleak morning air, 




CHARLES IX. OF FRANCE. 



iS66. Mary Stuart. 215 

after their twenty-mile ride, wondering whether they 
would be admitted at all. Their suspense was soon over; 
for the castellan hastened to receive their majesties with 
every demonstration of respect, and led them and their 
companions into the castle. The first thing the queen 
did was to order a fire, and to ask for some new-laid 
eggs. Small appetite for food either she or the king 
must have had during the dreadful forty-eight hours 
through which they had just passed. 

As soon as Mary had refreshed herself, she wrote to 
her brother-in-law, Charles IX. of France, to the queen- 
mother, and to her uncle. Cardinal de Lorraine, giving an 
account of her troubles. In her letter to her uncle, she 
subscribed herself, " Your niece Marie, queen without a 
kingdom." But she made a mistake ; for the hearts of 
her people were with her, and the kingdom was still hers, 
as the Earls of Bothwell and Huntley proved that very 
day, by coming to her aid at the head of thirteen hun- 
dred horsemen. She then wrote letters, and issued pro- 
clamations, summoning all the true men of Scotland to 
rally in defence of the crown. And nobly was her call 
responded to ; for an army of eight thousand put them- 
selves under her command. With such numbers she 
would have been able to take the field against the con- 
spirators had there been need, but, as before, they were 
defeated without a blow. They were assassins, as they 
had proven by their manner of dealing with the little 
Italian secretary — they were not warriors. 

When the elopement of Mary and her consort was dis- 
covered, the consternation was great, and the lords were 
furious with Darnley for having outwitted them. Crafty 
though they were, he was more so, but what made them 
most angry was that by assuming the character of lawful 
protector to his wife, and delivering her out of their 



2i6 Mary Stuart. 

wicked hands, Darnley had publicly proved that their 
slanders against her character were utterly false. Her 
enemies, now finding themselves very weak in numbers, 
sent a humble supplication by Lord Sempill to her maj- 
esty to sign the pardon she had promised on the day pre- 
ceding her flight from Holyrood. But as she did not 
consider herself bound by any pledge she had made 
while a captive and in fear of her life, she would not see 
the envoy for three days, and then dismissed him with an 
unfavorable answer. Glencairn and the Earl of Rothes, 
however, who protested their innocence of the late foul 
treason, and threw themselves on the mercy of their 
offended sovereign, were pardoned. 

The queen's party in Edinburgh was now so strong that 
Lord Erskine, governor of the castle, was ordered to 
proclaim that unless the rebel lords left at once, he would 
fire the town. This threat produced the desired result, 
and Morton, Ruthven, Lindsay, Kerr, and the other lead- 
ers of the assassination fled to England, and took posses- 
sion of the quarters Moray and his party had previously 
occupied at Newcastle. 

Before his departure, Morton wrote to excuse himself 
to the queen for his late act of treason, and assured her 
that he had been reluctantly drawn into the plot by the 
entreaties and threats of the king and his father, disclos- 
ing, at the same time, such clear proofs of the guilt of 
both, that Mary forbade the Earl of Lennox ever to come 
into her presence again. 

The royal pair passed five days at Dunbar, and then 
went to Haddington, where they held a council, and trans- 
acted important business, involving a complete change of 
ministry. The Earl of Huntley now became Lord Chan- 
cellor, and Sir James Balfour, Clerk-Register; Bothwell, 
Lieutenant-General, and Captain of Dunbar, and, by in- 



is66. Mary Stuart. 217 

heritance, the office of lord admiral also was bestowed 
on him. Thus all the military force of the crown was in 
the hands of Bothwell. 

Darnley desired that Moray should be severely pun- 
ished, but the queen, who had never ceased to love 
her brother, made an effort to win him over to her party. 
On the night of her escape from Holyrood, she charged 
one of her ladies to tell Sir James Melville to persuade 
Moray to leave the rebels and return to his allegiance. 
Seeing that their cause was hopeless, the earl sent 
letters to the queen at Haddington, protesting his in- 
nocence of the late odious crime, and solemnly pledging 
himself to have nothing more to do with the rebels. 
She did not know that it was he who had asked aid 
for Morton and Ruthven of the English Government 
when they were on their way to execute his designs, nor 
could she guess that he never meant to abandon the 
confederacy, whose sole object was the destruction of 
herself. The attempt had failed on account of the 
unexpected part Darnley had played; the conspirators 
bided their time. 

Mary's heart was sore when she was at Haddington, 
from some fresh cause of displeasure her husband had 
given her ; for, in a private conversation with Sir James 
Melville, she lamented the king's folly, unthankfulness, 
and bad behavior, also the treacherous dealings of his 
father, from whom, she said, she ought to have had far 
different counsel. Darnley jealously asked Melville 
whether Moray had written to him, and was told " his lord- 
ship esteems your majesty and the queen as one, and his 
letter was written in haste," but his self-importance was 
offended. " He might have written to me also," was his 
petulant rejoinder; he then asked what had become of 
Morton, Ruthven, and the rest of that lot, and, when told 



2i8 Mary Stuart. 

that they had fled, he said bitterly : " As they have 
brewed, so let them drink." 

On the i8th of March, the queen returned in triumph 
to Edinburgh, accompanied by her husband, all the 
nobles of her party, and their attendants, and nine thou- 
sand horse and foot soldiers. The whole town turned out 
to meet the sovereign, who was received with the most 
flattering demonstrations of joy. 

Instead of proceeding to their palace of Holyrood, 
their majesties took up their abode in Lord Home's house, 
and caused field-pieces to be placed on the grounds, as 
well as a guard, for fear of a surprise. Although Mary 
took every possible measure to grant the fullest form of 
pardon to her husband, and had it proclaimed in the 
market-cross that nobody was ever to say that he was 
interested in the conspiracy, nothing could be more 
"wretched than the position in which he found himself in 
consequence of his late folly. The queen had lost confi- 
dence in him, and her friends held him in contempt ; while 
the confederates scorned and despised him, and thirsted 
for vengeance. He became more irritable than ever, and 
bothered the queen with his puerile jealousies on account 
of her superiority in rank ; but he was powerless to do 
further mischief, either to himself or her, and he sought 
consolation in the church. 

On the 5th of April the queen removed to Edinburgh 
Castle with her ladies and officers of state, and the 
first person she met was the unfortunate Earl of Arran, 
who had been under restraint there for four years. 
He knew his sovereign, and appeared grateful for the 
consideration she had shown him, but the interview 
agitated her so much that he was removed to Hamilton 
Palace, where he was permitted to reside as a prisoner 
at large. 



.iiit 



1566- Mary Stuart. 219 

The abode of Morton and the other assassins at New- 
castle caused Mary so much uneashiess that she wrote an 
earnest request to Queen Elizabeth not to harbor her 
traitors there. Elizabeth ordered them to depart, but 
hinted, at the same time, that England was a wide field, 
and they would find good accommodation elsewhere, 
nearer Scotland ; so they proceeded to Alnwick, where 
they lurked in readiness to return at an hour's notice to 
join their friends in any plot they chose to bring for- 
ward. 

The King and Queen-Mother of France sent an ambas- 
sador to congratulate Queen Mary on her escape from 
her late peril, and in his train was Joseph Riccio, brother 
to the murdered secretary, who came to look after David's 
effects. As Mary had not yet been able to trust any 
one with her ciphers and private foreign correspond- 
ence, she engaged Joseph to take his brother's place, 
though she could scarcely have made a more unpopular 
choice. 

On Wednesday, June 19, between nine and ten o'clock 
in the morning, Queen Mary gave birth to a fine prince. 
This happy event was announced by a triumphant dis- 
charge of guns from the castle. When the king beheld 
his boy, he leaned over and kissed him affectionately, and 
Mary said, "This is the prince who, I hope, will unite 
the two kingdoms of England and Scotland." "Why, 
madam," said Sir William Standen, who was present, 
" shall he succeed before your majesty and his father ? " 
" Alas ! " she returned, " his father has broken with me." 
" Sweet madam," said Darnley, " is this your promise 
that you made to forgive and forget all ? " "I have for- 
given, but I can never forget," observed Mary. 

The happy father wrote that day to the Cardinal de 
Guise to announce the birth of his son, and to invite 



220 Mary Stuart. 

that prelate to stand godfather. The rejoicings through- 
out the city were universal ; bonfires blazed on all the 
hills, and a vast concourse of people assembled in the 
Church of St. Giles to unite in solemn thanksgiving for 
the safety of the queen, and the birth of an heir to the 
crown. 

On the 27th of July, having been ordered by her physi- 
cian to the country for change of air, Mary consented to 
honor her old preceptor, the Earl of Mar, with a visit 
at Alloa Castle. Darnley refused to enter the vessel 
with Moray and his co-adjutors, and chose to perform 
the journey by land. The day after their arrival at 
the castle, their majesties sat in council, and published 
a proclamation, convening their lords, barons, and free- 
holders of the southern shires to meet them at Peebles 
on the 13th of August for the purpose of supporting 
them in a progress through the realm to hold courts 
of justice. 

Before the queen set out, Moray and the Earl of Athol 
solicited her to pardon Lethington. Darnley opposed 
this measure, and pronounced Lethington the vilest of 
traitors, declaring that he had been guilty of Riccio's 
murder, and ought never to be admitted to her presence ; 
but Moray told the queen that passion and prejudice 
prompted her husband to speak as he did, for Lethington 
was very much her friend, and was perfectly innocent of 
any share in the murder, as he had supped that night in 
Athol's apartment. In an evil hour for herself, Mary 
was, therefore, induced to grant this subtle traitor full 
and free pardon for all his offences, and to admit him to 
an audience. Darnley was excessively angry at such a 
mark of disobedience, and gave ample proof of his dis- 
pleasure by first raging at the queen, and then treating 
her with coldness and reserve. 



iS66. Mary SUiart. 221 

Nevertheless, the royal pair made their progress together, 
and then returned to Edinburgh, and took their infant 
with them to Stirling Castle. On the nth of September 
the privy council requested the queen's presence in the 
metropolis for the transaction of business; she wished 
Darnley to accompany her, but he refused, and she was 
obliged to go without him. She was back at Stirling by 
the 2ist, and was joined there by the new French ambas- 
sador, Monsieur du Croc, who, in a private letter to the 
queen-mother, says : " Great preparations are making for 
the baptism of the little prince, and the queen is much 
pleased with the appointment of Count de Brienne to act 
as proxy for the King of France on that occasion. The 
lords here are putting themselves in grand order to per- 
form their duty well, the Protestants as well as the Catho- 
lics, and I must tell you that both the lords here and 
those who are in correspondence with the king and your 
majesty are so well reconciled to the queen and to each 
other that I can perceive no division between them. 
But if the queen and these lords are well together, the 
king, her husband, is as ill with the one side and the 
other ; nor can it be otherwise, with the way he deports 
himself, for he wants to be all in all, and so puts himself 
in the way to be nothing. He often complains to me, 
and one day I told him that if he would do me the honor 
of informing me what it was he found fault with in the 
queen and her nobles, I would take the liberty of men- 
tioning it to them. He said that he wished to return to 
the same state he was in when he first married ! I assured 
him that he could never do that, and if he found himself 
well off then, he ought to have kept so ; and that his con- 
duct to the queen had been such that he could not hope 
to be re-instated in authority ; and that he ought to be 
very well satisfied with the honors and benefits she gave 



222 Mary Stuart. 

him in treating him as king-consort, and supplying him 
and his household liberally." 

This is a proof that Darnley had been joint sovereign 
with the queen until his base conduct reduced him to 
the inferior position of king-consort ; but he had not 
the sense to perceive the justice of the change, and his 
pride was mortified by the contempt with which he was 
regarded on all sides. This he attributed to the re- 
spect paid by the queen and her council to Moray, 
who now exercised the functions of prime minister, hav- 
ing filled the cabinet with a majority of his own crea- 
tures and confederates. Darnley did not consider that, 
as he had recalled Moray without the queen's consent, 
he had placed her in a position that left her little choice 
in the matter. 

On the 23d of September, the queen returned to Edin- 
burgh again, to attend a convention of the nobles. Her 
husband refused, as before, to accompany her. He wrote 
to the queen, " I have two causes of complaint : first, that 
your majesty does not trust me with so much authority, 
and does not take as much pains to advance me and make 
me honored by the nation, as you did at first ; and, sec- 
ondly, that nobody attends me, and the nobles seem to 
avoid my society." To this she answered that, if it were 
so, he had no one to blame but himself ; for in the begin- 
ning she bestowed so much honor upon him that it was 
the worse for herself, since the authority she had given 
him only served as a protection for those who so heinously 
offended her. Yet she nevertheless continued to treat him 
with the same respect ; and, although they who perpe- 
trated the murder of her faithful servant entered her 
chamber with his knowledge, following close behind him, 
yet would she never accuse him of it, but always excuse 
him, and seemed not to believe it. As for his complaint 



1566- Mary Stuart. 223 

that he was not well attended, she said that she had always 
placed at his command those who received her wages, the 
same as if they were his own. The nobles, she continued, 
came to court when it suited their pleasure ; but he had 
taken no pains to win them, and had even forbidden them 
to enter his chamber. If he wished them to follow him, 
he must endeavor to make them love him, by behaving 
amiably towards them ; otherwise, he could not expect 
them to consent that the management of affairs should be 
placed in his hands. 



CHAPTER IX. 

[A.D. 1566.] It was one of the Scottish laws that when 
sovereigns reached the age of twenty-five they might 
revoke all the crown grants, whether made by their regents 
or themselves, previous to that time. The grants made 
by the Due de Chatelherault and the late queen regent 
had been enormous ; and Mary, in her youthful inexperi- 
ence, had been so lavish that her revenues were reduced 
to one-third their proper value. Naturally, the parties who 
profited by this generosity were willing to resort to almost 
any measures whereby the evil day of restitution might be 
postponed for a new term of twenty-four years, with the 
probability of retaining the property forever. There was, 
therefore, a conspiracy among the nobles for bringing 
Mary's reign to a close before she completed her twenty- 
fifth year, and placing the reins of government in the 
hands of a regent until the little prince was old enough to 
assume them himself, thereby increasing their own wealth 
and power. 

While her enemies were working to accomplish this, 
Mary Stuart's attention was divided between preparations 
for the christening of her son and plans for reconciling 
the nobles to one another, thus, as she fondly hoped, 
securing peace and happiness for her realm. Every action 
of hers was closely watched, and minutely reported to the 
English at Berwick, who heard with no little interest of 
the reconciliation which took place between Moray, Hunt- 
ley, Bothwell, and Argyll. These four obtained the most 

224 



1566. Mary Stuart. 225 

important places in the ministry, and agreed not only 
to act in concert, but to secretly fortify and support 
one another in all their undertakings against their 
opponents. 

A convention of nobles assembled at Edinburgh for the 
purpose of making preparations for the baptism of the 
prince. They subscribed twelve thousand pounds to 
defray the expenses of this ceremony; and the queen 
issued directions for the costumes to be worn, which she 
paid for herself. But before this ceremony took place, 
Mary had a malignant attack of typhus fever, which it was 
feared would cause her death. Prayers were said for her 
in all the churches ; but she grew so much worse that her 
nobles were summoned to her bedside to receive her last 
commands. In their presence she repeated the Roman 
Catholic creed in Latin, and told them that by discord all 
good purposes were brought to naught ; she therefore ex- 
horted them to unity and peace. She forgave all who had 
offended her, — especially, her husband, — and made a 
request that if the banished lords who had so deeply 
sinned against her should be brought back into the realm 
after her death, they should, at least, never have access to 
her son. To the French ambassador, Du Croc, she said : 
" Commend me to the king, your master. Tell him I hope 
he will protect my dear little boy ; and also that he will 
grant one year of my dowry, after my death, to pay my 
debts and reward my faithful servants. But, above all, 
tell the queen-mother that I heartily ask her forgiveness 
for any offence I may have either offered or been supposed 
to have committed against her," She also recommended 
the prince to the protection of the Queen of England, as 
his nearest kinswoman, and repeated her entreaties to her 
nobles to take care of him, and not to suffer any to be in 
his company in his tender youth that were of evil natures^ 



226 Mary Stuart. 

and likely to set him a bad example, but such only as 
could instruct him in virtue. She recommended tolerance 
in matters of religion, declaring that she had never perse- 
cuted her subjects on that score, and added, in her pretty 
Scotch, " It is a sair thing and a meikle prick to any one 
to have the conscience pressed in sic a matter." 

On the night of the 25th of October, an unfavorable 
change took place in the condition of the queen, and 
those about her thought she was dying. She swooned, 
her sight failed, and her extremities were cold, but friction 
was resorted to, and persisted in for nearly four hours, 
when she revived. In the morning she swooned again, 
and for several minutes it was thought that she had passed 
away ; but her French physician, Charles Nau, would not 
give her up ; he had the rubbing begun again, and at the 
end of three hours her majesty opened her eyes and 
spoke. From that moment she began to improve, and on 
the 9th of November she was well enough to travel to 
Kelso. She was attended by the Earl of Moray and other 
members of her council, including Bothwell. 

Throughout the queen's illness Darnley remained at 
Glasgow, and devoted his time to amusement. Possibly 
he had not been informed of her danger until late in the 
month, when he went to see her; but his apparent heart- 
lessness had made such an unfavorable impression on 
those who had charge of his wife that he was not admitted 
to her sick-chamber, and he returned to Glasgow in a 
very bad temper. While at Kelso, Mary received several 
letters from her husband, whose contents she did not 
reveal, but they must have been of a distressing nature, 
because she was so affected by them that there was 
danger of a relapse into her recent illness, and she was 
heard to exclaim, with tears in her eyes, " rather than live 
to endure such sorrow, I would kill myself." 



^566. Mary Stuart. 22/ 

About the middle of November, Queen Mary suddenly 
determined to visit the English Border in state, and went 
as far as Halidon Hill, where she could behold Berwick in 
the distance, as well as other parts of the country over 
which she hoped some day to rule. On this subject she 
was scarcely sane, and when she got back to Dunbar 
Castle, she actually had the imprudence to write to Eliza- 
beth's privy council, asking them to exert their influence 
in having her rights established, a proceeding above all 
others most likely to anger and offend the English sover- 
eign. But her party had been so materially strengthened 
in England by the birth of her son, her liberal policy in 
matters of religion, and the courage she had displayed in 
times of danger, that she felt sure of a triumphant major- 
ity in case her claims to the succession were left to the 
•decision of Parliament. 

The queen reached Craigmillar Castle on the 20th, and 
six days later she was joined by Darnley, who stayed with 
her until the 4th of December. But he came in a bad 
frame of mind, which was not improved by finding his 
wife still under the influence of her base brother and his 
confederates, and his visit was no comfort to anybody. 
During that week, Moray and Lethington were forming 
their plans to get rid of him, and they marked with secret 
satisfaction the unkind feeling that existed between the 
royal couple. After Darnley's departure for Stirling, they 
pretended to sympathize with his neglected consort, and, 
in order to probe the true nature of her sentiments, deli- 
cately hinted at a divorce as a matter of political necessity 
for the benefit of the country. 

Deeply though she had been injured, Mary could not 
bear the idea of an irrevocable separation from the man 
she had tenderly loved. Lethington and Moray now be- 
gan to urge her, and to point out the advantages of such a 



228 Maty Stuart. 

step, while assuring her that it could in no way prejudice 
the interests of her son. To this she wisely answered : 
" I will that ye do nothing whereto any spot may be laid 
to my honor or conscience, and therefore, I pray you, 
rather let the matter remain as it is, until God in his 
goodness shall remedy it ; for believing to do me a service, 
possibly ye may displease and injure me." " Madam," 
rejoined Lethington, " let us guide the business among 
us, and your grace shall see nothing but good, and what 
Parliament will approve." But, seeing that she opposed 
this conspiracy for a divorce in every way, the lords re- 
solved to fall back to their original plan of assassination. 
Accordingly, before they left Craigmillar Castle, Sir James 
Balfour, the notorious parson of Fliske, drew up a bond 
for the murder. It stated " that it was thought expedient 
and most profitable for the common weal, by the whole 
nobility, that such a young fool and proud tyrant should 
not reign over them, and that for divers causes they had 
concluded that he should be taken off in one way or 
another ; and they also agreed to defend and fortify who- 
soever should take the deed in hand and accomplish it, 
for it should be every one's action, reckoned as if done by 
himself." 

On the 7th of December, Queen Mary returned to 
Holyrood, without having the slightest suspicion of the 
conspiracy for the murder of her husband, who on that 
day completed his twenty-first year. As the infant prince 
was to be baptized at Stirling, the queen removed with 
him to that castle on the loth, and they were shortly after 
joined by Darnley. The next person of importance to 
arrive was the Earl of Bedford, Queen Elizabeth's am- 
bassador. He was honorably received by the gentlemen 
of Lothian, and conducted to the house of Chatelherault, 
where he was lodged with his suite of eighty persons dur- 




ELIZABETH. 



15^6. Mary Sttim't. 231 

ing his sojourn in Edinburgh. Mary held a court for 
the reception of tlie English embassy the same day, when 
Bedford presented her with a splendid christening gift 
from his sovereign, consisting of a massive silver font 
which cost more than a thousand pounds. He brought 
besides a handsome ring to the Countess of Argyll, whom 
Elizabeth had appointed to act as her proxy at the baptism, 
saying that, as the time of the year would not allow her 
to send any of her own ladies, she had made choice of the 
countess, thinking she would be most agreeable to her 
sister, the Queen of Scots, to whom she had heard she 
was deeply attached. 

Nothing could have been more deceitful than Eliza- 
beth's demonstrations of friendship ; for she had never 
forgiven Mary for her marriage with their mutual kinsman, 
Darnley, whom she still persisted in calling her subject. 
She refused to acknowledge his title as King of Scot- 
land, and forbade the Earl of Bedford and his suite to 
treat him as such, though she had condescended to accept 
the office of godmother to the little prince. This placed 
Mary in a most awkward dilemma, for she could not per- 
mit her husband to be exposed to a public insult in the 
presence of the whole court and the foreign representa- 
tives without resenting it, and she was in no position to 
enter into hostilities with so powerful a neighbor as 
Elizabeth, It therefore seemed expedient for Darnley to 
absent himself both from the religious ceremony and the 
fetes given in honor of the baptism. 

It was the persevering malice of Moray and his party 
that had brought about this behavior of Elizabeth towards 
Darnley. The only blame that can be attached to Mary 
in the affair was her want of foresight in requesting the 
queen to act as sponsor to the prince without first insist- 
ing that she should recognize Darnley's regal title. In- 



232 Mary Stuart. 

stead of concealing his annoyance, Darnley behaved with 
his usual want of judgment, and entered into an open 
quarrel with his wife (who was no less mortified than him- 
self), and threatened to leave her again, being prevented 
from a public exposure of his ungovernable temper only 
by the prudence of Du Croc, " The very day of the bap- 
tism," says that statesman, " he sent for me three sepa- 
rate times, desiring me either to go to see him or to 
appoint an hour when he might come to my lodgings ; 
but I found myself obliged to let him know that the king, 
my master, had charged me to hold no conference with 
him ; I also sent him this message : that as it would not 
be very proper for him to come to my apartments, because 
there was such a crowd of people there, so he ought to be 
aware that there were two entrances to them, and if he 
should come in by one, I should feel constrained to go 
out at the other." The conduct that provoked so stern a 
rebuff from one who had been untiring in soothing and 
friendly offices must have been outrageous, and was 
probably the result of drunkenness. 

The day appointed for the baptism was December 17. 
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the prince was borne 
from his nursery to the chapel royal by the French 
ambassador, who represented Charles IX. as one god- 
father, and by Du Croc, for the Duke of Savoy, as the 
other. The Countess of Argyll represented Queen Eliza- 
beth as godmother, and the Earl of Athol, nearest kins- 
man to the father of the infant, walked next to the French 
ambassador in the procession, bearing the tall wax candle. 
The salt was carried by the Earl of Eglinton, the chrism 
by Lord Sempill, the basin and ewer by the Bishop of 
Ross. A double line of nobles, each bearing a lighted 
wax taper, extended all the way to the chapel door, where 
the infant was received by the Archbishop of St. Andrew's 



1566. Mary Stuart. 233 

in splendid robes, with staff, mitre, and cross, the Bishops 
of Dunkeld and Dumblane, and many other churchmen, 
the ceremony being performed according to the rites of 
the church of Rome. 

The silver font presented by Queen Elizabeth was used, 
and the little prince received the names of Charles James 
and James Charles, which were proclaimed by the her- 
alds three times, with a flourish of trumpets, within the 
chapel, at the chapel door, and to the people assembled 
outside. The ceremony concluded at five o'clock, with 
singing and organ-playing, when the infant was carried 
back to his chamber in triumph. 

The queen then invited her distinguished guests to 
accompany her to the great hall of Parliament, where 
supper was served. She sat at the middle of the table, 
with the French ambassador on her right, and the English 
one on her left. The Earl of Huntley served the queen 
as carver, the Earl of Moray as cupbearer, and the Earl 
of Bothwell as server. The heralds, macers, and trumpet- 
ers preceded three masters of the household, who walked 
abreast, bringing up the meat. Then came Lord Seton, 
followed by the Earl of Argyll, each bearing a white 
wand; the other lords and gentlemen followed with 
lighted torches. The first course went off peacefully, 
though the French nobles and the queen's French ser- 
vants expressed considerable jealousy among themselves 
because more attention was paid to the English guests 
than to them. The second course, consisting of all sorts 
of dainties and sweet dishes, was brought in on a moving 
stage on wheels, attended by a band of musicians, clothed 
like maidens, playing on various instruments and singing. 
They were preceded by a party of grotesquely dressed 
creatures, who carried whips with which they cleared a 
passage through the crowded hall up to the queen's table ; 



234 Mary Stuart. 

then they performed curious antics for the entertainment 
of the guests. This device was planned by Bastian, the 
queen's French master of the revels, who no doubt 
expected to be greatly applauded ; but unfortunately cer- 
tain gestures were made which gave offence to the Eng- 
lish guests, who, suspecting that they were being ridiculed, 
all turned their backs. One of them, Master Hatton, 
even went so far as to say that if he were not in the 
queen's hall and presence, he would put a dagger into 
the heart of that French knave Bastian, who was evi- 
dently jealous because her majesty had made too much of 
the English. Mary observed that something had gone 
wrong, and it required all the tact and good nature she 
and Bedford could bring to bear before order was re- 
stored. 

Some rich and costly presents were bestowed by the 
queen in honor of the baptism of her son. To the Earl 
of Bedford she gave a chain worth two thousand crowns, 
and George Carey received a string of pearls and a valua- 
ble diamond ring. Hatton got a chain with the queen's 
portrait attached, and to six other gentlemen of the Eng- 
lish embassy were presented handsome chains. 

The Earl of Bedford, on the part of his sovereign, 
renewed the demand he had made at Fontainebleau, on 
the death of Francis II., for the ratification of the Treaty 
of Edinburgh. In return, Mary drew his attention to the 
unwelcome question of her recognition as heiress to the 
throne of England. However, neither matter was pressed 
very far, and it was proposed that an envoy be sent to 
discuss both. 

Two days after the baptism, the queen gave a grand 
banquet and a fine display of fireworks. Attended by a 
train of her noble guests, she walked about in the park 
among her humbler subjects, so that they might have as. 



1566. Mary Stuart. 235 

much of the pleasure as possible, and all were charmed 
with the graciousness of her manners. The prettiest cer- 
emony of all was the one of belting her baby boy, which 
the royal mother did on the day he completed his sixth 
month, and within the week of his baptism. An earl 
assisted in placing the ducal coronet on his brow, the 
mantle about his person, and a gold ring on his tiny fin- 
ger. His heels were touched with the spurs, and his hands 
were clasped between those of his lady mistress, who made 
him kneel on his mother's lap to perform in silent show 
his homage, and bend his little head in unconscious assent 
to the oath of allegiance that was read for him. 

The bustle and excitement of the festive week at Stirling 
came to an end. The proud wish of the royal mother had 
been gratified ; her boy had been presented at the bap- 
tismal- font by the representatives of the sovereigns of 
England, France, and Savoy, and the religious ceremony 
had been solemnized in accordance with her own belief. 
Everything had been done on a splendid scale, and the 
people had appeared well satisfied with the show. Indeed, 
Mary's popular and generous behavior on this occasion 
endeared her more than ever to their hearts, and they 
wasted no thoughts on her absent husband, whose arro- 
gance and folly had disgusted them. But the queen knew 
that her interests and his were inseparable, and she made 
another effort to win him back, with so much success that 
he acknowledged his mistakes, and promised for the future 
to live as a good husband ought with a loving, faithful 
wife, and never again to listen to those who had given him 
evil advice. 

This reconciliation lasted until the next day, when the 
pardon that the queen had reluctantly consented to grant 
the Earl of Morton and others was published ; then, in a 
transport of indignation and rage, Darnley went away from 



236 Mary Stuart. 

Stirling, without even bidding his wife farewell. This 
happened on the 23d of December, and Mary, whose 
health and spirits were in no condition to stand this extra 
strain, spent a joyless Christmas. But she was kept busy 
most of the time with important affairs of state, which 
kept her from sinking into deep despondency. 

Just after Darnley's arrival in Glasgow, he became very 
ill, and his father, as well as everybody about him, felt 
alarmed at his symptoms. The learned Doctor Abernethy 
declared that he had been poisoned ; but in due course of 
time pustules appeared all over his face and body, which 
proved that his was a case of small-pox, so prevalent in 
those dark ages of ignorance. But there were those who 
insisted that Darnley had been poisoned by his wife before 
he left Stirling, and that the eruption was the result. 
Buchanan published this among his other calumnies 
against the Queen of Scots, and had it translated into 
all the known languages, to insure a wide circulation. 
His work, entitled " The Detection," was dedicated 
to Queen Elizabeth. Darnley himself never suspected 
Mary of this crime, for, as soon as he found out what 
ailed him, he sent to inform her of it, and to request that 
her own physician might come to his aid. Doctor Lusgerie 
was the name of this man, and he was so skilful in the 
treatment of the dread disease that he was despatched 
with the least possible delay, and succeeded in curing the 
erring Darnley. 

[A.D. 1567.] Shortly after the unfortunate man's recov- 
ery, Queen Elizabeth made the important discovery that 
he was intriguing against her government with her Roman 
Catholic subjects. This was an alarming revelation in- 
deed, and one calculated to excite the sovereign's rage. 
She was scarcely less annoyed when the fact was disclosed 
to her, through William Rogers, one of the treacherous 



iS^;- Mary Stuart. 237 

English adventurers in the employ of Darnley, that both 
he and Mary often received letters from the Countess of 
Lennox, Arthur Pole, and other prisoners in the Tower of 
London. The clew to these dangerous correspondences 
had been obtained by Bedford, the ambassador, and Wil- 
liam Rogers, who had been employed as the spy to in- 
vestigate them, was summoned for trial on the i6th of 
January. 

Before this trial began, Mary Stuart and her court at- 
tended the marriage of the Lord of Lethington and the 
beautiful maid-of-honor, Mary Fleming, which was solem- 
nized at Stirling Castle. This was the third of the Marys 
who had entered the pale of wedlock, for Mary Living- 
stone had married before the queen, and Mary Beton 
was the wife of Alexander Ogilvie, though she still held a 
post as one of Queen Mary's bedchamber ladies. Mary 
Seton was the only one who remained unmarried, and she 
was true to her royal mistress through good and evil 
report, in prison as well as in a palace. It is pleasant to 
be able to mention her among the few bright exceptions 
to the treachery and ingratitude of the vipers who basked 
in the sunshine of Mary Stuart's prosperity, and turned 
their venomous stings upon her when she was in ad- 
versity. 

Reports began to be circulated of a very alarming na- 
ture while the queen was at Stirling. Moray and his 
colleagues assured her that Darnley and his father were 
assembling a force at Glasgow to dethrone and imprison 
her for life, and to crown the infant prince, in order that 
they might govern the realm in his name. On the other 
hand, for the purpose of goading Darnley to some rash act, 
he was told that it was the queen's intention to arrest and 
imprison him. Some bitter words escaped him, which 
were repeated to Mary, and, of course, fearfully exag- 



238 Mary Stuart. 

gerated. She, thereupon, summoned a special meeting of 
the privy council, on the loth of January, to consider the 
matter. As the members were leagued for the destruction 
of the unfortunate Darnley, and determined to make an 
effort to induce her to consent to his death, they said 
everything to excite her fears. Not considering herself or 
her little boy safe at Stirling, she beat a hasty retreat with 
him to Edinburgh, slept one night at Callander House, and 
reached Holyrood Abbey on the 14th. 

Moray urged his sister to frustrate the treasonable de- 
signs of her ungrateful husband by hastening to Glasgow 
at the head of a strong force, and taking the whole party 
by surprise. But she was too prudent to take such a step 
until she had personally investigated the matter; and 
when she had done so, she became convinced that neither 
Lennox nor her husband was in position to disturb her 
government, but it distressed her exceedingly to hear of 
the false reports concerning herself which the tale-bearers 
had carried to them. While her mind was agitated by the 
bewildering rumors of plots that did not exist, the Earl of 
Morton, Archibald Douglas, Lethington, and Bothwell 
were quietly arranging their plans for the murder of Darn- 
ley, and preparing the public mind to ascribe the atrocious 
deed to the vengeance of his royal wife. 

The interviews of these conspirators were held in the 
garden of Whittinghame Castle, a short distance from the 
metropolis. There, secure from witnesses, they talked 
over their plans, though each distrusted the other, and 
each was as false to the others as to his queen, his country', 
and his God. According to Morton's account, Douglas 
took the leading part in the conferences ; but this is not 
probable, for Morton had the peculiar faculty for making 
men of even greater abilities than his own his tools. 
Bothwell was the only one of the four who was ignorant of 



1567- Mary Stuart. 239 

the deeper plot to which the murder of Darnley was a 
necessary introduction ; but he rushed into the snares of 
subtler villains than himself, and argued against the 
feigned reluctance of Morton, whose aim was to draw the 
queen herself into the plot against her husband's life. 
After meeting day by day for two or three weeks, the 
interviews were finally broken up, in consequence of Both- 
well's failing to furnish proof of the queen's encourage- 
ment of the deed. Morton then went to St. Andrew's to 
visit his nephew, the Earl of Angus. 

At last, finding that they could not arouse Mary to ven- 
geance against her husband, the ministers went so far as 
to draw up a warrant for his arrest and imprisonment as a 
state prisoner. They presented it to her for her signature ; 
but she refused, for she would do nothing that might prove 
a final bar to her reconciliation with Darnley. Whenever 
his faults were recounted in her presence, she was wont to 
say: "The king, my husband, is but young, and may be 
reclaimed. If he has been led into evil measures, it is to 
be attributed to his want of good counsel and to the influ- 
ence of bad company, as well as to his disposition to yield 
to those about him ; but God will remedy all in his own 
good time, and amend what is amiss in his grace." 

Ill health, severe weather, and the wretched conditions 
of the roads had prevented the queen from going to her 
husband as soon as she heard of his illness at Glasgow ; 
but one month from the time he parted with her at Stir- 
ling, she set out to join him, with the intention of removing 
him to Craigmillar Castle, where apartments, fitted up 
with everything for the comfort of an invalid, had been 
arranged. Mary could scarcely have made a wiser choice ; 
for this castle was in a most healthful situation, sheltered 
from the bleak winds, sea fogs, and the smoke of Edin- 
burgh, yet within sight and easy distance of that city. In 



240 Mary Stuart. 

order that her husband might be enabled to perform the 
journey with as much comfort as possible, the queen took 
her own litter for his use, as this mode of travelling was 
easier than a carriage. 

Queen Mary approached Glasgow with a numerous 
retinue, which had increased as she passed along the road 
until it amounted to more than five hundred horsemen. 
She was met by Captain Thomas Crawford, a person in 
the service of the Earl of Lennox, who had sent him to 
present his humble respects to her majesty, with his ex- 
cuses for not coming to meet her in person, praying her 
grace not to think it was either from pride or ignorance of 
his duty, but because he was ill. Besides, he would not 
presume to come into her presence until he knew further 
her mind, on account of the sharp words she had spoken 
of him to Robert Cunningham, his servant, in Stirling, 
whereby he thought he was in her majesty's displeasure. 

Knowing that much of her matrimonial misery had been 
caused by the selfish, ambitious traitor who had repaid 
her benefits by conspiring against her life and government, 
and exerting a baleful influence over her husband, Mary 
merely replied, with cold disdain, " There is no recipe 
against fear." " My lord hath no fear," replied the man, 
"of anything he knows in himself, but only of the unkind 
words you have spoken of him." " He would not be 
afraid unless he were culpable," said the queen. " I know 
so far of his lordship," retorted Crawford, " that he desires 
nothing more than that the secrets of every creature's 
heart were written on his face." Mary reminded the man 
of his presumption, in thus answering, by this query, " Have 
you any further commission ? " The man said, " No." 
Whereupon the queen rejoined, " Then hold your peace," 
and closed the conference by riding on to Glasgow. He 
had his revenge ; for he was Lennox's spy, instructed to 



1567- Mary Stuart. 241 

inform the earl of all that passed between the queen and 
Darnley, and he performed his task with a view to making 
as much mischief as possible. 

Mary's first interview with her husband did not take 
place by daylight, but she was able to discern that he was 
very much disfigured, and that he had lost all his beauti- 
ful hair. She was very sorry, but assured him that she 
would soon find a remedy for that ; and even her worst 
enemies bear witness to the tender attentions she lavished 
on the invalid, though, of course, they impute all her kind- 
ness to deceit. Darnley was so pleased to have her with 
him once more that he expressed his willingness to go 
wherever she desired ; but Crawford sought an oppor- 
tunity to tell him that the queen had some dark design in 
taking him to Craigmillar Castle, and asked, in a sus- 
picious tone, why she preferred that place to Edinburgh 
Castle. Then Darnley, who distrusted, not Mary, but all 
her ministers, refused to go, and it was agreed that he 
should be removed to Kirk-o'-Field instead. 

But it was the conspirators who selected this place, for 
the queen had fully intended to take her husband to 
Craigmillar. In consequence of her excellent nursing, 
the invalid improved so rapidly that by the 27th of Janu- 
ary he was able to begin his journey. The queen was 
with him, and they supped and slept at Callander the first 
night. The next day they proceeded to Linlithgow, where 
they rested a couple of nights, and when the journey was 
resumed, they were met on the road by the Earl of Both- 
well, whose duty it was, as sheriff of the Lothians, to 
receive and escort them to Edinburgh. All the nobles 
and gentry mounted to meet their liege lady on her return 
to her metropolis, because she had travelled in state from 
Linlithgow. Her perfidious ministers had their own rea- 
sons for not clearly defining which of the two houses by 



242 Mary Stuart. 

the Kirk-o'-Field had been prepared for Darnley's lodg- 
ing ; therefore, when the queen alighted at the door of the 
provost's house, she supposed it to be a mistake, and 
took her consort by the hand to lead him to the Hamilton 
Palace, hard by. But the Earl of Moray, who was there 
to receive his victims, interposed, and conducted them 
into the fatal mansion appointed by him and his con- 
federates for the consummation of their long premeditated 
crime. 

The queen now devoted herself to the care of her hus- 
band, and his temper was so chastened by his recent 
illness that he began to give promise of becoming all that 
a fond wife could desire. While he continued in quaran- 
tine, Mary only left him for short periods to get air and 
exercise, when she walked with Lady Reres in the garden 
of the ruined Dominican convent, which adjoined that of 
the Kirk-o'-Field, and occasionally sang duets with her 
under the window of the invalid, who was exceedingly 
fond of music. Sometimes she sent for the royal band 
from Holyrood House to play in the garden of an even- 
ing. In short, there never was a princess whose conduct 
afforded a more touching example of the tender charac- 
teristics of her sex, so beautifully described by Walter 

Scott : — 

O woman ! in our hours of ease, 
Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, 
And variable as the shade 
By the light, quivering aspen made; 
When pain and anguish wring the brow, 
A ministering angel thou ! 

Such she had been to her first consort, the sickly, unat- 
tractive Francis, and such she was to Darnley when he 
was ill and suffering. He had repaid her love with 
injuries, had been false, ungrateful, and unkind, but she 
was ever ready to pardon as he was to sin against her. 



1567- Mary Stuart. 243 

Three days before the tragedy, Lord Robert Stuart told 
Darnley privately that there was a plot against his life, 
and, unless he found means to escape from the house in 
which he then was, he would never be permitted to leave 
it alive. Darnley immediately informed the queen, who 
sent for the man, who had already proved himself a 
dangerous mischief-maker, and commanded him to ex- 
plain his meaning. Instead of doing this, he denied 
point-blank that he had ever said anything of the sort to 
the king. Darnley, enraged at this falsehood and impu- 
dence, angrily told him he lied, the other retorted inso- 
lently, a fierce quarrel ensued, and both laid hands on 
their daggers. Bloodshed would certainly have resulted 
had not the queen called in terror on Moray to part them, 
and take Lord Robert away. It is very clear that Moray 
was present when the queen called Lord Robert to ac- 
count, and this is why he was intimidated into denying 
the information he had previously given. 

The suspicions of Darnley and the queen were now 
awakened, and the conspirators felt that it was necessary 
to hurry on their enterprise, for, among the many who 
knew of it, they feared furtiier disclosures. 

At this juncture, a vacancy occurred in the queen's 
household, and Bothwell seized the opportunity to recom- 
mend a foreign domestic of his own, named Nicholas 
Hubert, to be her majesty's valet. The first day he 
entered her service, Bothwell spoke to him in the apart- 
ment of the queen, while she was with her consort in the 
room above. "Hubert," he said, "forasmuch as I have 
ever found thee a true and faithful servant, I will 
tell thee something; but keep it secret, as thou valuest 
thy life." " My lord, it pertaineth not to a servant to 
reveal his. master's secrets," returned he; "but if it be 
anything ye think I cannot keep close, tell it not to me." 



244 Mary Stuart. 

" Wottest thou what the matter is ? " asked Bothwell. 
" If this king, here above, get on his feet over us lords of 
this reahu, he will be both masterful and cruel ; but as 
for us, we will not allow such things ; and therefore we 
have concluded to blow him up with powder, within this 
very house." Hubert was dismayed, and seemed unable 
to utter a syllable, until Bothwell asked what he was 
thinking about. "What think I, my lord?" returned 
Hubert ; " it might not please you to pardon me if I 
should tell, according to my poor understanding, what I 
think." " Wouldst thou preach ? " exclaimed Bothwell, 
then added, angrily, "but say on, say on." " My lord," 
replied the man, "since these five or six years I have 
been in your service, I have seen you in great troubles, 
and never saw any friends that did for you. And now, 
my lord, you are forth of all your troubles, thanked be 
God, and further advanced in court, as all the world 
knows, than ever ye was. Moreover, it is said that ye 
are the greatest landlord of this country ; and also ye are 
married, at which time a man should become sober and 
sedate ; but now, my lord, if ye enter into this business, 
it will prove the greatest trouble you have ever had, — far 
beyond all others, — for everyone will call 'Murderer' 
after you." " Hast thou done ? " interrupted Bothwell. 
" My lord, I pray you pardon what I have spoken accord- 
ing to my poor understanding," said Hubert. " Thinkest 
thou that I do this alone or of myself ? " asked the earl. 
" My lord, I cannot tell how you do it ; but this I know 
well, it will be the greatest trouble you have had yet." 
" How can that be ? " asked Bothwell, " for I have Leth- 
ington, who is accounted one of the subtlest spirits of the 
realm, and he is the manager of it all ; and besides him, I 
have the Earl of Argyll, my brother the Earl of Huntley, 
the Earl of Morton, and the Lords Ruthven and Lindsay. 



li'X'- Mary Stuart. 245 

These three will never fail me, for it was I who interceded 
for their pardon ; and I have the signatures of all I have 
named to thee, and proof that they were minded to do it 
when we were last at Craigmillar ; but thou art a beast 
for such a mean spirit ; thou art not worthy to be trusted 
with a matter of such consequence." " Forsooth, my 
lord, you say truly, for my spirit serveth me not for such 
things," returned Hubert, "but rather would I prefer to 
do you what service I may ; and well, my lord, may they 
make you the leader and principal in this deed ; but as 
soon as it shall be done, they will throw the whole on you, 
and be the first to cry ' Murderer ! ' after you, and to 
proceed against you to the death, if it be in their 
power." 

Subsequent events proved Hubert to be a man of no 
ordinary degree of foresight. He next took the liberty 
to make further inquiries. " There is one, my lord, you 
have not named ; I know well he is beloved by the com- 
mon people and by us Frenchmen ; and that when he 
governed, for the space of two or three years, there were 
no troubles in the country, — everything went well, — there 
was plenty of money, but now no man has any, and we 
see plenty of trouble. He is wise and has good friends." 
"What mean you?" asked Bothwell. "I mean the Lord 
of Moray ; pray tell me, what part taketh he ? " " He will 
not meddle with the matter at all," replied Bothwell. 
" My lord, he is prudent ! " said the man. " My Lord of 
Moray ! My Lord of Moray ! " exclaimed the earl, turn- 
ing about, " he will neither help us nor hinder us, but it is 
all the same." 

This was perfectly true of Moray ; he was not a whit 
more innocent of either the murder of Riccio or Darnley 
than the brainless ruffians who performed the butcher 
work ; but he left others to incur the responsibility of the 



246 Mary Stuart. 

deed in his absence, and came forward to reap the bene- 
fits of their daring. 

Bothwell concluded his conference with Hubert by de- 
siring him to take the key of the queen's chamber. " My 
lord, you will pardon me if you please," replied the man, 
" inasmuch as I am a stranger, and the usher would in- 
quire, with reason, what I had to do with it." " Why, are 
not you valet-de-chambre to the queen?" demanded the 
earl. " True, my lord ; but, you know, in the house of a 
prince every officer has his own particular duty, and 
among others the usher has that of keeping the key of 
this chamber, the care of which pertains to him." " Why, 
then," asked Bothwell, angrily, " have I placed you here, 
unless to draw service from you ? " " Alas, my lord," 
observed the wretched man, " such service as is in my 
poor power to do, you may command." Terrified at the 
behavior of his former master, and with the recollection of 
the cruel kicks and cuffs he used to bestow for the slight- 
est opposition to his will, Hubert breathed a sigh of relief 
when the tyrant departed, and, hastily putting on his hat 
and cloak, walked to St. Giles' Cathedral, where he re- 
turned thanks to God for the escape he had made ; at the 
same time he prayed fervently that he might be spared 
from being forced to become an accomplice in Bothwell's 
crime. 

On Friday, the 7th of February, when Bothwell had 
fully made up his mind to blow up the king's bedroom 
with gunpowder, he came again to Hubert, and asked if he 
had secured the key as he had been ordered to do. " I 
will see about it, my lord," he answered. " Fail me not," 
returned Bothwell, raising his finger threateningly, "for we 
are going to put the deed into execution on Sunday night." 

The reason for appointing this particular night was that 
the conspirators knew the queen and all her attendants 



'^S^l- Mary Stuatt. 247 

would be away, she having promised to give a masked 
ball at Holyrood Abbey, in honor of the marriage of her 
faithful servants Bastian Paiges and Margaret Garwood. 
This couple had assisted the queen and Darnley in escap- 
ing from Holyrood Abbey after the murder of Riccio, 
and, in grateful remembrance of this service, she endowed 
them on their wedding day with a life pension of three 
hundred marks, and presented them besides with all the 
materials for their marriage garments. As an additional 
iTiark of favor, she promised to dance at the wedding. 

On the Saturday night Bothwell again demanded the 
key of Hubert, who, terrified at the fear of incurring per- 
sonal violence from his ruffianly patron, humbly repeated 
that it was not his office to take charge of the queen's 
bedroom key. " Well, I have keys enough without thee," 
boasted the earl, "for there is not a door in this house of 
which I have not the key ; for Sir James Balfour and I 
have been up all night to examine and search the best 
means and place for the execution of our design, and 
have found good entry thereto ; but thou art a beast, 
whom I will not employ in it, for I have people enough 
■without thee, faint-hearted cur as thou art." 

After Bothwell's departure, Hubert went into the queen's 
chamber, where Margaret, the bride-elect, and several 
other persons were waiting for her majesty, who was with 
the king in the apartment above. Presently it was an- 
nounced, " the queen is going to the Abbey ! " Every one 
then went out to follow her, and Hubert, being the last, 
locked the door and put the key in his pocket. At the 
Abbey, Bothwell repeated his inquiry, and the man re- 
plied : " Yes, my lord, I have the key." " Then I com- 
mand you to keep it," returned Bothwell. 



CHAPTER X. 

[A.D. 1567.] When the queen went up to her consort's 
chamber to bid him good-by before proceeding to Holy- 
rood Abbey, she found him closing some letters that he 
had been writing to his father, and a cloud passed over 
her countenance as she recalled the misery that Lennox 
had caused her. Observing this, Darnley handed her the 
letters to read, and she was highly gratified to iind that 
they were filled with praises of herself, and of her devo- 
tion to him, and contained the assurance that he was satis- 
fied that she was entirely his, and that for the future all 
things would be well between them. 

Darnley was now rapidly recovering his health and 
strength, and on that morning he had been able to attend 
mass. Indeed, during his illness he had reflected deeply, 
and had devoted much of his time to religious exercises. 
But the more interest he manifested in his unpopular be- 
lief, the more determined were the members of the con- 
federacy to get rid of him, for fear of his regaining his 
influence over the mind of his wife. 

The gunpowder brought by Bothwell's order from Dun- 
bar had been secretly conveyed, on Saturday night, to 
the lower apartments of Holyrood Abbey, and the acting 
committee proceeded with their preparations for the deed, 
which was to be perpetrated before the dawn of day. 
True to his usual cautious policy, the Earl of Moray man- 
aged to be out of the way, by obtaining the queen's per- 
mission to visit his wife in Fifeshire, representing that she 
was seriously ill. 

248 



1567' Mary Stuart. 249 

The fatal Sunday was a day of uncommon festivity at 
court ; and it was the last gay day in Mary Stuart's 
reign and life. Bastian Paiges and Margaret Garwood 
were married in the chapel royal at Holyrood ; and the 
queen graced the ceremony, as well as the dinner (which 
she had provided), with her presence. Then she returned 
to see her husband, with whom she spent some time ; and 
at four o'clock attended a grand banquet, given by the 
Bishop of Argyll, in honor of the departure for home of 
the Savoyard embassy. When she arose from the table, 
all the great nobles followed her to the house at Kirk-o'- 
Field ; and she led them to her husband's apartment, in 
order that they might pay their respects to him, and con- 
gratulate him on his recovery. This was evidently a 
small state reception to amuse Darnley, and to pass the 
interval between the queen's return from the banquet and 
her going to the ball at Holyrood, which she had prom- 
ised to honor with her presence. Meantime, Bothwell, 
instead of accompanying her majesty with the other nobles 
to the house where Darnley was, slipped away, and went 
to hold a secret council with his accomplices in his 
apartments at Holyrood Abbey, where the gunpowder 
was standing in a leather trunk. This was now conveyed 
through the garden gate into the provost's house, and, 
with the aid of Hubert, to the queen's chamber, where it 
was deposited on the floor. 

Mary had arranged to pass the night at Holyrood 
Abbey, because it would be late when the ball ended ; so 
she was the last person to leave her husband's room after 
she had taken affectionate leave of him whom she was to 
meet no more in life. In his deposition, Hubert, the 
reluctant accomplice in the murder, says : " Immediately 
after her majesty's arrival at the Abbey, she ascended to 
the room where the wedding was held ; as for me, I with- 



250 Mary Stuart. 

drew into a corner, where my Lord of Bothwell came to 
me, and asked what I meant by putting on that dismal 
look before the queen, and added that, if I did not stop 
it, he would dress me in such a fashion as I had never 
been before." It must be clear to those who suspect 
Mary of having been a party to the crime that Bothwell 
would not have menaced his wretched tool for looking 
dismal before her if this had been the case ; he would 
rather have warned him against exciting the suspicion of 
the assembled guests. There can be no doubt of his 
dread lest she should inquire into the cause of Hubert's 
dejection, and thus give rise to questions of a more alarm- 
ing nature, tending to the discovery of his villany and 
that of her other trusted officers of state. As it was past 
eleven o'clock when the queen arrived at the Abbey, she 
did not stay at the ball more than an hour, for, at a little 
after midnight, she retired with the bride and her other 
ladies. The company then broke up and dispersed. 
Mary was attended on that evening by some of the 
noblest matrons of Scotland, among whom were the 
Countesses of Mar, Bothwell, and Athol. 

The Earl of Bothwell, having exchanged his handsome 
suit of black velvet, embroidered with silver, for a plainer 
one, of dark cloth, went privately with Hubert, after the 
ball was over, to see that everything was in readiness at 
the house of Kirk-o'-Field, and, leaving his kinsmen, John 
Hepburn and Hay of Tallo, to fire the train of powder, 
returned to the Abbey in time to be found quietly in bed 
when the explosion roused the slumbering city. 

Bothwell had been in bed about half an hour, when Mr. 
George Hacket knocked at the gate, and desired admit- 
tance, crying out as soon as the earl appeared, " The 
king's house is blown up, and I trow the king is slain ! " 
" Fie ! Treason ! " exclaimed the lord, who, hastily putting 



1567- Mary Stuart. 251 

on his clothes, went to the queen's house. Alarmed by 
the noise of the explosion, her majesty had just sent to 
inquire into the cause, when the Earls of Argyll, Athol, 
Huntley, and Bothwell, with their wives, rushed into her 
presence, with the tidings of what was supposed to have 
happened. The queen instantly ordered Bothwell to pro- 
ceed to the spot with the guards to ascertain what really 
had occurred. 

On arriving at the scene of the disaster, the provost's 
house was found in ruins. The mangled remains of the 
two grooms of the king's bedchamber and their boy 
attendants were found beneath a mass of rubbish. 
Thomas Nelson, another of the servants, was the only one 
who had the good fortune to be taken out alive. Search 
was made for the king in vain ; and it was not until past 
five o'clock on Monday morning that his lifeless body was 
found, lying under a tree in a little orchard, on the other 
side of the wall, about eighty yards away. He had noth- 
ing on but his night-shirt ; and close by were his fur 
pelisse and slippers. Near him was the corpse of his 
faithful servant, William Taylor. It was at first supposed 
that both had been blown into the air, and carried by the 
force of the explosion to that distance ; but as neither 
was scorched or blackened by the powder, and not the 
slightest bruise or fracture could be discovered on either 
body, such could not have been the case. 

Buchanan says that, "besides Bothwell and his men, 
two distinct parties of the assassins came by different 
roads to the house of Kirk-o '-Field, and that a few of 
them entered the king's chamber, of which they had the 
keys, and, while he was fast asleep, took him by the throat 
and strangled him, and also one of his servants, who lay 
near him, and carried their bodies through a little gate, 
which they had made on purpose in the city wall, into a 



252 Mary SUiart. 

garden near by, then blew the house up with gunpowder." 
This version of the manner of Darnley's death has been 
generally adopted ; but it is not likely that, after stran- 
gling their victim, the murderers would have been at the 
pains of removing him from a house they were going to 
destroy. The fact of the pelisse and slippers being near, 
and uninjured, would seem to indicate the probability 
that, with the caution of an invalid, dreading exposure to 
the cold night air, Darnley had snatched up these articles 
at the first alarm, and fled for his life, intending to put 
them on as soon as opportunity offered, but that ere he 
could do this, he was overtaken by the assassins, and 
choked to death. 

The queen, having been told that the explosion was 
caused by an accidental fire in the provost's house, 
remained for several hours in suspense as to the fate of 
her husband, until Bothwell returned to announce that his 
lifeless body had been discovered. Overpowered with 
grief and horror, she retired to her own chamber and 
went to bed, where she wept bitterly, unable to arouse her- 
self. 

Darnley's remains were conveyed by Bothwell's com- 
mand to a house near by, to await the queen's instructions, 
and, after the surgeons had made an examination, was 
placed on a bier and conveyed to Holyrood Palace, where 
it was viewed by thousands of people. The queen 
deputed her council to take proper steps for the investi- 
gation of the mysterious tragedy, and to announce to her 
foreign allies what had happened. As Bothwell and 
Lethington, two of the principals in the murder, subscribed 
the following letter to the Queen Regent of France, it is 
a very curious document : — 

" Madam, — The strange mischance that has happened 
in this city constrains us to take the boldness of 



1567- Mary Stuart. 253 

writing these few lines to you in order to apprise 
you of the wicked deed that has been perpetrated on 
the person of the king, in a manner so strange that 
no one ever heard of the like. About two hours after 
midnight, his lodging, he being then lying in bed, 
was blown up into the air by the force of gunpowder; 
as far as we can judge by the sound, and by the sudden 
and terrible effect, which has been so vehement that of 
a hall, two chambers, a cabinet, and a wardrobe, nothing 
remains, but all has been scattered to a distance and 
reduced to dust, — not only the roof and floors, but also 
the walls to the very foundation. It may easily be per- 
ceived that the authors of this crime intended by the 
same means to have destroyed the queen, with the 
greater part of the nobles, who were then in attendance 
and were with her in the king's apartment till very near 
midnight ; and it was a mere chance that her majesty did 
not lodge there herself that night. But God has been so 
gracious that the assassins were frustrated of that part of 
their design, having preserved her to take such vengeance 
as an act so barbarous and inhuman merits. We are 
after the inquest, and make no doubt soon to come to the 
knowledge of the persons by whom it was perpetrated, for 
God will never permit such wickedness to remain hidden 
and unpunished." 

No investigation in which the criminals themselves took 
the leading part was likely to be either fairly or legally 
conducted. Early on the morning of the nth, a court was 
opened in the Tolbooth for the examination of the servants 
of the royal household, at which the Earl of Argyll presided, 
assisted by Sir John Bellenden and the other members of 
the privy council then in Edinburgh. Nothing was con- 
fessed that threw any light on the mystery, and the queen 
ordered a proclamation to be made offering a reward of 



254 Majy Stuart. 

two thousand pounds and a pension for life to whoever 
would reveal and bring to justice the person or persons 
by whom the horrible and treasonable murder had been 
committed. 

When Mary went to take her last sad farewell of her 
dead husband, she gazed long and steadily on his lifeless 
form, in that deep sorrow whose silence is more expressive 
than the most eloquent of words. She gave orders for 
embalming the body, and for having it placed in the 
chapel royal until the day of the funeral. Doubtless she 
had her suspicions as to the assassins of her husband, but, 
surrounded as she was by traitors, her own safety and 
that of her infant son prevented her from giving expres- 
sion to them. Holyrood Abbey seemed to her no longer 
a safe abode ; she therefore took refuge with her child in 
Edinburgh Castle, where a state mourning chamber hung 
with black was arranged for her, according to the customs 
of the queens of France on such occasions. 

On the evening of the 15th of February, the remains of 
the unfortunate Darnley were interred in the royal vault of 
the chapel of Holyrood, by the side of the late King 
James V. The funeral was private, because, in the excited' 
state of public feeling, anything like pomp or display 
would have served as an excuse for the gathering of the 
people at the risk of creating a riot. The time was there- 
fore prudently chosen after the Abbey gates were closed 
for the night, thus avoiding the danger of insult from the 
Protestant fanatics, who had often broken into the 
queen's chapel while she was at mass and beaten and 
driven her priest from the altar. 

The morning after the funeral, the following placard 
was found on the door of the Tolbooth, having been placed 
there during the night : " Because proclamation is made 
whosoever will reveal the murder of the kins: shall have 



1567. Mary Stuart. 257 

two thousand pounds, I, who have made inquisition by 
them that were the doers thereof, affirm that the com- 
mitters of it were the Earl of Bothwell, Mr. James Bal- 
four, parson of Fliske, Mr. David Chalmers, Mr. John 
Spens, who was the principal deviser of the murder, and 
the queen, who assented thereto, through the persuasion 
of the Earl of Bothwell and the witchcraft of the Lady 
Buccleuch." 

The queen's courageous answer to this anonymous 
placard was a proclamation requiring the setter up of the 
libel to come forward and avow the same, and he should 
have the sum promised in her first proclamation, and still 
more, according to his ability to make good his words 
before her and her council. 

This brought forth a second placard which appeared on 
the door of the Tolbooth the next morning, and was 
worded thus : *' Forasmuch as proclamation has been 
made, since the setting up of my first letter, desiring me to 
subscribe and avow the same, I desire the money to be 
placed in an impartial man's hand, and I shall appear on 
Sunday next with a party of four, and subscribe my first 
letter and abide thereat ; and farther, I desire that Francis 
Bastian, and Joseph, the queen's goldsmith, be stayed, 
and I shall declare what every man did in particular with 
Jiis accomplices." 

The queen took no further notice of such nonsense, 
which seemed to be the work of some person with disor- 
dered intellect, and probably she was reminded how the 
lunatic Earl of Arran had denounced Bothwell's treason- 
able designs against herself five years before. There 
were other placards, mysteriously worded denouncing dif- 
ferent people ; and voices were heard in the night, predict- 
ing vengeance and woe, and accusing by name parties on 
"whom it was intended to fix the stigma of Darnley's as- 



258 Mary Stuart. 

sassination. One historian says : " No one cared for 
Darnley during his Hfe ; and had his death occurred 
under any other circumstances than those which had been 
purposely arranged by the enemies of both to throw sus- 
picion on the queen, it would have been regarded by the 
people in general as a national deliverance, and hailed 
with savage delight by the parties who were banded to- 
gether for his murder, even before his marriage with their 
sovereign." Darnley had only completed his twenty-first 
year in the December before his death, and scarcely two 
years had elapsed since his first arrival in Scotland. 
Randolph had been correct when he predicted, " This new 
master will have brief days in Scotland." 

After the queen had spent a week in the mourning 
chamber at Edinburgh Castle, from which the light of day 
had been excluded by the black drapery, her health and 
spirits became so alarmingly depressed that her council, 
by the advice of her physicians, entreated her to change 
her residence without delay. She accordingly retired to 
Seton, which was near enough to Edinburgh to allow her 
to transact business of state, and at the same time to 
enjoy the country air and exercise. She was accompanied 
by her ladies, the Archbishop of St. Andrew's, and most of 
her nobles then in Edinburgh, her suite being composed 
of more than a hundred persons. 

Mary gained nothing by leaving the metropolis, but 
change of scene ; for sorrow, care, and calumny, pursued 
her, and she had pecuniary troubles to bear besides. 
These had begun before her husband's death, and she had 
been for some time endeavoring to negotiate a small loan 
in France, through her ambassador. Archbishop Beton. 
Her household was greatly reduced in consequence of the 
departure of all of Darnley's servants and a great many 
of her own. Her foreign attendants, for the most part. 



1567- Mary Stuart. 259 

warned by the tragic fate of Riccio and Darnley, fled the 
reahn in terror. Darnley had employed a band of his 
own, as well as a company of English musicians, and 
when their leader, Hudson, repaired to the queen at Seton 
to obtain her license for his return to his own countrj^, 
she endeavored to dissuade him, saying : " You have lost 
a good master ; but if you will tarry, you shall find me not 
only a good mistress, but a mother." But not even this 
kind and gracious assurance could prevail on the musi- 
cians to remain in so perilous a country. 

The queen left her son at Holyrood Palace, when she 
went to Seton, under the care of the Earls of Huntley and 
Bothwell ; she could scarcely have given better proof of 
her entire confidence in their integrity ; they were among 
the very few whom she had discovered no reason to sus- 
pect. Monsieur du Croc, who was absent on a visit to 
the court of England at the time of the tragedy of Kirk- 
o'-Field, returned to Scotland at this time, and joined the 
queen at Seton. He left her in bad health and spirits, 
after the baptism of her boy at Stirling ; he found her now 
in a condition far more pitiable. She was then the dar- 
ling of the people, and the object of general sympathy on 
account of Darnley's ill treatment of her ; but now, in 
consequence of the late frightful event, and the under- 
hand proceedings of the real authors of the crime, a 
reverse was rapidly taking place in the public mind. 
The anonymous placards and caricatures had their effect, 
and the traitors ventured a step further ; they set up on 
one of the most prominent public buildings of the 
metropolis, a large board, on which appeared, in glar- 
ing letters, "Farewell, gentle Henry; but a vengeance 
on Mary." There was another, declaring that the smith 
who made the false keys to the king's lodging would be 
declared, provided the person who could give the infor- 



26o Mary Stuart. 

mation might be assured of the reward promised in the 
proclamation. 

The queen has been severely censured for not taking 
active means to discover the authors of these denuncia- 
tions. They were in reality directed against herself by 
the skulking incendiaries who were inflaming the minds 
of the citizens against her, and she was perfectly con- 
scious of this fact, but, environed as she was by traitors, 
she was powerless. Moray, who had withdrawn himself 
from the scene a few hours before the blow was struck at 
Darnley, remained away, in spite of the repeated messages 
his sister sent him and as her prime minister. He had 
been her principal adviser for nine months ; yet he left 
her at this trying moment, to carry on the affairs of 
government as best she could. As a natural consequence, 
the reins of state fell into the hands of Bothwell, Huntley, 
and Argyll, who, in conjunction with Lethington, became 
the ruling powers in the court of Holyrood. It was 
scarcely possible for it to be otherwise, for the queen was 
a defenceless young widow, of a different religion from 
her subjects, and with an empty treasury, abandoned by 
Moray, intimidated by the English faction, and unsup- 
ported by her natural ally, France. She yielded to the 
force of circumstances, and did her best to carry on the 
government with such a cabinet as she could obtain. It 
was a cabinet composed exclusively of Protestants, and if 
she had chosen to abandon her own religion, and declare 
herself a Congregational queen, her path might have 
been easy. 

The sad fate of Darnley produced a change in the feel- 
ings of the queen towards his father, and she wrote a 
letter of sympathy inviting him to return to court to 
assist her with his counsel in taking measures for the 
punishment of the criminals, promising, at the same time, 



1567. Mary Stuart. 261 

to treat him with the same affection she had shown him 
on his first arrival in Scotland. But he replied in a most 
unfriendly tone, and the several letters that passed between 
them related to the trial and punishment of all suspected 
persons, which Lennox forcibly urged. 

Meanwhile the placard system was diligently con- 
tinued, and one night a bill was posted up on which 
were the regal initials M. R. in large type, and a hand 
with a sword in it ; near this were the letters L. B., for 
Lord Bothwell, with a mallet above. The midnight cries, 
appealing for vengeance on the shedders of innocent 
blood, with a proclamation of the names of the supposed 
assassins, were continued, and still further inflamed public 
feeling. Several persons undertook to watch and capture 
the nocturnal agitator ; but he either managed to elude 
their vigilance, or he was found to be too strongly accom- 
panied by armed men to be safely attacked. 

As soon as these base contrivances for exciting the 
passions and prejudices of the multitude against the 
queen began to produce visible effects, Moray, Morton, 
Lindsay, and several others of the conspirators, met 
secretly at the house of Lennox's kinsman, the Earl of 
Athol, to concert measures for a revolutionary movement 
under the pretext of avenging the death of Darnley, al- 
though there was not one of their number who had not 
previously banded against his life. 

Moray did not return to Edinburgh for a whole month, 
when, notwithstanding his secret bond for the prosecution 
of Darnley's murderers, of whom Bothwell was daily 
named on the placards as the principal, he gave him the 
right hand of fellowship, and invited him to a select 
diplomatic dinner to meet the English ambassador, Killi- 
grew. This occurred on the 8th of March, and for a 
month afterwards Moray continued to treat Bothwell with 



262 Mary Stuart. 

all outward appearances of friendship, both having been 
members of the band, formed the preceding October, to 
stand by one another in all their doings. 

The queen's attention was now drawn towards provid- 
ing a protector and a secure asylum for her infant son. 
Her choice fell on the Earl of Mar, her former preceptor, 
and the son of Lord Erskine, who had faithfully guarded 
her in her childhood. But the sons of her lord keepers 
were men of different mettle from their fathers. The 
Countess of Mar, who had already been appointed gov- 
erness to the prince, was her confidential friend ; and she 
had been brought up to love and obey the earl with filial 
reverence from her earliest childhood. True, he had 
changed his creed, and, from being a priest in the church 
of Rome, had become a lay peer of Parliament, and a 
married man, but that had not in the least abated Mary's 
regard for him ; she was willing to accord to him as to all 
others, the same liberty of conscience which she desired 
for herself. It was to this nobleman that she confided 
the care and tuition of her only child until he should 
reach tlie age of seventeen, knowing full well that he 
would naturally be bred in the principles of the Reforma- 
tion. This fact indicates her enlightened views ; she 
Icnew how important it was that the sovereign should be 
of the national religion, and she wanted to spare her child 
the sufferings she had endured because she was not. 
She dared not change her own belief for the sake of escap- 
ing persecution, and of promoting her own interests, but 
she proved her willingness to have her son educated a 
Protestant by consigning him to the care of one of the 
Lords of the Congregation. It was her wish to deliver 
the precious charge to Mar with her own hands, and she 
wrote him to meet her at Linlithgow for that purpose ; 
but he excused himself under the plea that he was con- 




STREET IN EDINBURGH. 



1567- Mary Stuart. 265 

fined to his bed from illness. The prince was, therefore, 
sent to Stirling on the 19th of March, under the care of 
the Earls of Argyll and Huntley, by whom he was safely 
delivered, in due form, on the following day, to the Earl 
of Mar. The little fellow was then just nine months old. 
On the day that her boy was sent to Stirling, Queen 
Mary received the following letter from the Earl of 
Lennox : " I thank your majesty most humbly for your 
gentle answer, as touching the ward of the Lennox. 
Further, where your majesty in your former letter 
writes to me that if there be any names mentioned in 
the tickets that were affixed to the Tolbooth door of 
Edinburgh that I think worthy to suiter a trial for the 
murder of the king, your majesty's husband, upon my 
request your majesty would proceed according to the 
laws of the realm, and, being found culpable, shall see 
the punishment as rigorously executed as the weight of 
the crime deserves ! Please your majesty, it is my humble 
petition that it may please you not only to apprehend and 
put in safe keeping the persons named in the tickets 
which answered your majesty's first and second proclama- 
tions, but also with diligence to assemble your majesty's 
whole nobility, and there, by open proclamation, to admon- 
ish and require the writers of the said tickets to appear, ac- 
cording to the promise thereof ; at which time, if they do 
not, your majesty may, by advice of your said nobility 
and council, relieve and put to liberty the persons in the 
tickets aforesaid. As for the names of the persons, I mar- 
vel that they have been kept from your majesty's ears, 
considering the effect of the tickets and the open way in 
which they have been mentioned — that is to say, in the 
first ticket, the Earl of Bothwell, Master James Balfour, 
Master David Chalmers, and John Spens; and in the 
second ticket, Francis Bastian, John de Bourdeaux and 



266 Mary Stuart. 

Joseph Riccio, David's brother, which persons, I assure 
your majesty, I for my part greatly suspect ; and now, 
knowing the names, and being the party even more inter- 
ested than I am, although I was the father, I doubt not 
your majesty will take steps in the matter according to 
the weight of the cause." 

As in the first placard it was asserted that the queen 
consented to the murder, through the enchantments of 
Lady Buccleuch, it was certainly a great affront to her for 
her father-in-law to ask her to proceed according to that. 
She testified no displeasure however, but calmly replied 
to him, as she had always done, for she knew that, only 
a few days before, he had written to Cecil, begging the 
interference of Queen Elizabeth for the revenge of his 
son's murder, and that, through Killigrew, he had sent 
messages both to the English sovereign and her minister. 
She wrote that she had anticipated his desire, by sum- 
moning her council to meet her the following week, and 
added : " Therefore we pray you, if your leisure and con- 
venience may serve, to be with us in Edinburgh this week 
approaching, where ye may witness the trial, and declare 
the things ye yourself know." 

The queen was, to say the least, peculiarly placed ; at 
the time of the riots in Edinburgh she was in great dan- 
ger, though acting by the advice of her ministers, and now 
she was required to arrest one of the most powerful barons 
of her realm, the commander of her military force, entirely 
on her own authority, when there was no evidence of his 
guilt, and nothing to denounce him excepting an anony- 
mous placard. Knowing how innocent Lady Buccleuch 
and she herself were, Mary thought Bothwell equally so. 

Instead of suspecting Moray, who had plotted Darnley's 
murder, eighteen months before, the Earl of Lennox, whose 
head was not the clearest in the world, suffered himself 



^S^7- Mary SUiart. 267 

to be deluded by his kinsman, the Earl of Athol, into 
joining the confederacy for dethroning the queen, under 
the pretext of avenging Darnley's death. 

Mary had done all that was constitutional, by convening 
her Parliament, calling her council together, and provid- 
ing for the safety of her son, by placing him, as she fondly 
imagined, in honest, impartial hands. It is true that the 
Earl of Mar was Moray's uncle ; but she loved and 
trusted him. 

Agonizing excitement, added to the terrible shock that 
Mary had sustained, began to tell on her health, and 
every one observed how ill and woe-begone she looked. 
She was apparently sinking under her burden of grief 
and care ; but the hard hearts of those who were near 
her failed to sympathize. The age of chivalry was over, 
and poverty rendered the case of Mary, Queen of Scots, a 
hopeless one. 

Two especial privy councils were held in Edinburgh, on 
the 24th and 28th of March, to consider the best means 
for prosecuting the parties named on the placards as the 
murderers of the late king. At the first of these, Both- 
well arose, with the well dissembled frankness .of an hon- 
est man, and said that as his name had been openly 
coupled with this odious accusation, he could not allow so 
foul a blot to be thrown on his character, and demanded 
to be put on his trial, offering to surrender himself, in the 
meantime, a prisoner, and to remain in ward until after 
assize. His hardihood arose from the knowledge of his 
having in his possession the bond bearing the signatures 
of several of the confederates in the murder, who, he felt 
sure, must, for their own safety, protect him. However, 
in spite of his confidence in the support of his accom- 
plices, Bothwell took good care to guard himself from the 
honest indignation of the populace, for he seldom went 



268 Mary Stuart. 

abroad without being attended by fifty armed horsemen. 
When thus protected, he assumed an air of bravado, and 
one day rode up to the market-cross, where a paper de- 
nouncing him as the principal murderer of the king was set 
up, and, swearing a deep oath, struck it down with his sword, 
vowing that if he could find the person who had prepared 
the same, he would wash his hands in his heart's blood. 

Bothwell's trial was appointed to take place at the Tol- 
booth, on the 12th of April. The Earl of Moray, who, up 
to that period, had behaved in a most friendly manner to- 
wards him, thought proper to leave the city three days 
before the opening of the trial, thus avoiding the danger 
of acting publicly either for or against him. As before, 
he left his able confederates Lethington and Morton to 
play the game at home, so as to cast odium on the queen, 
by linking her irrevocably to Bothwell's cause, while he 
proceeded to conclude with the English government, in 
person, his secret arrangements for her ruin. 

The queen wept bitterly when Moray came to take his 
leave of her, and entreated him to remain in Scotland, 
This he refused to do, falsely assuring her that he was 
deeply in debt, tired of public business, and intended to 
pass five years abroad. She desired him, in that case, to 
go neither to England nor France, but to embark for 
Flanders, and he promised faithfully to do so, before she 
gave him permission to depart. He proceeded straight to 
Berwick, where he remained several days, and then to the 
court of England, where he was affectionately received by 
Queen Elizabeth. After remaining there as long as it 
suited his convenience, he went to France, where he per- 
fected his plans so ably with the queen regent and the 
Huguenot party, with whom she was then friendly, as to 
prevent Mary from receiving the slightest aid from France 
in the time of her jrreatest distress. 



1567- Mary Stuart. 269 

The Earl of Lennox was summoned by the queen to 
appear in the Tolbooth on the 12th of April, with evi- 
dence against the Earl of Bothwell and others whom he 
had accused. The same proclamation enjoined any of 
her majesty's lieges who had acquired knowledge therein 
to come into the said court and depose all they knew of 
the matter. Lennox was not satisfied, for Parliament was 
to meet the next day, and as Mary had promised that the 
trial should take place before the meeting of that body, 
he thought the time too short. He had suspicions of 
Bothwell's guilt, but he had no proofs, and, aware that, in 
such circumstances, acquittal must take place, he wrote to 
Queen Elizabeth, requesting her to use her influence to 
have the trial postponed. To his daughter-in-law, he 
wrote also, but not until the eleventh hour, protesting 
against so early a day, and requiring her to arrest the 
persons whom he had accused, in order to give him time 
to collect necessary evidence. But it was too late, and 
Mary knew that if she delayed the trial then, it would 
have been generally believed that she did not intend it to 
take place at all. 

Queen Elizabeth did write, as Lennox had requested, 
to ask Mary to postpone the trial, but Lethington man- 
aged to get hold of the letter, and told the messenger 
that it would not be well to deliver it until after the 
court adjourned. He and Bothwell took special pains 
to allow no one to have access to the queen, who would 
be likely to alter their arrangements. But even if she 
had seen Elizabeth's letter, its eiifect would have been 
rather to confirm than to alter her decision in regard to 
a measure against which the English sovereign thought 
proper to protest in a very insulting tone. Elizabeth 
had always hated Darnley, and she had no right to 
interfere in the manner of trying those suspected 



2/0 Mary Stuart. 

of his murder, particularly as she took occasion at the 
same time to insinuate that she strongly suspected Mary 
of being an accomplice in the foul deed, and assured her 
that this opinion would be confirmed if she did not en- 
deavor to give the defunct gentleman's father and friends 
all the satisfaction in her power by adjourning the court. 

Mary had had too many proofs of Elizabeth's hostility 
to Darnley not to perceive that she was now acting a de- 
ceitful part in pretending to bewail his murder ; besides, 
she had been warned by her ambassador at the court of 
France, of a plot against herself, and she was so panic- 
stricken that she resigned herself to the guidance of her 
council. Therefore, the trial of Bothwell took place on 
the day appointed. Accompanied by Lethington, a guard 
of two hundred, and a voluntary escort of four hundred 
gentlemen, the earl rode to the Tolbooth. The Earl of 
Argyll presided. Moray's brother-in-law, Lindsay of the 
Byres, Henry Balnaves, and James Makgill, who had been 
traitors to Mary from her cradle, and were notoriously 
creatures of Moray, were sworn as judges, and there were 
fifteen jurors, all men of high rank. 

Bothwell was charged with being " art and part in the 
cruel and horrible slaughter of the right excellent, right 
high and mighty prince, the king's grace, dearest spouse 
for the time of our sovereign lady, the queen's majesty." 
The accused denied the charge, and no witness came for- 
ward to depose anything to convict him of the crime. 
When the Earl of Lennox was called into court, one of 
his servants appeared in his behalf, and read a paper 
stating that his lord was unable to attend, on account of 
the shortness of the notice, and because he was in fear of 
his life, being denied liberty to bring the three thousand 
armed men whom he considered needful for his defence. 
Therefore, he requested that the trial should be put ofif 



BiiiKiriii 



»3Tr?rCT 




1567- Mary Stuart. 273 

forty days, or such time as he might need to bring suffi- 
cient proofs of his charge against the murderers, whom 
he required to have committed to prison until he should 
be prepared to convict them. The matter was laid before 
the judges and jurors, who decided to proceed with the 
case that day. Bothwell was, of course, acquitted, but, as 
his trial lasted from eleven in the morning until seven at 
night, he must have had a great deal to say in his defence, 
and many witnesses to support him. 

A few days after Bothwell's acquittal, the man who had 
disturbed the city by nightly crying, " vengeance on the 
shedder of innocent blood," and denouncing the supposed 
murderers by name, was arrested and thrown into a dun- 
geon, called "the foul thief's pit," from its loathsomeness, 
and was never heard of more. A servant of Sir James 
Balfour, who was at the murder of the king, was secretly 
killed, probably for showing some remorse of conscience, 
which might have tended to discovery. Of all the per- 
sons denounced on the placards, not one excepting the 
Earl of Bothwell was arraigned. Sir James Balfour 
offered himself for trial, but it was declared unnecessary, 
as no evidence had been produced against him ; yet, a few 
weeks later, he was loaded with hush-money, in the shape 
of pensions, church lands, and other immunities, by the 
Earl of Moray, who certainly knew of his share in the 
murder. During the successive regencies, no inquiry was 
ever made about any of the persons named in the plac- 
ards, but James Murray, the author of them, was rewarded, 
by the successful conspirators, with a pension. 

The Earl of Lennox applied to the queen for permission 
to leave Scotland, which was granted. He also obtained 
a license to bid his grandson farewell, and on the 17th of 
April, accompanied by twelve persons of his suite, he 
took his departure from the realm. 



CHAPTER XI. 

[A.D, 1567.] Queen Mary rode in state from her 
palace of Holyrood to the Tolbooth on the 17th of April, 
to meet her Parliament. The crown was borne before 
her on this occasion by the Earl of Argyll, in the absence 
of the princes of the blood, Chatelherault and Lennox ; 
the Earl of Bothwell carried the sceptre, and the Earl of 
Crawford, the sword of state. Mary has been severely 
censured for this arrangement, by historians who argue 
that, as Bothwell had been accused of the murder of 
Darnley, he ought not to have had a place in this pro- 
cession. But first it must be remembered that such 
matters were arranged by the king-at-arms, and that the 
sovereign had nothing whatever to do with regard to de- 
ciding the precedency. Then, Bothwell had voluntarily 
offered himself for trial, no evidence had been produced 
against him, and he had been unanimously acquitted by a 
jury of his peers, whose rank was too high for anybody to 
suspect that they had been tampered with ; thus it would 
have been difficult to exclude him from the distinguished 
place to which he was entitled. We know now that the 
judges were tools of Moray, and that they violated their 
oaths, and basely betrayed the duties of their position; 
but how could the queen be expected to instruct gray- 
haired senators in the subtleties of the law, particularly 
when she believed them honest ? 

This session of Parliament, though short, was important, 
because twenty-four acts were passed, repealing forfeitures 

274 



1567' Mary Stuart. 275 

of lands, and settling disputes among the nobles. Accu- 
sations by placards were prohibited; and liberty was 
granted to worship God according as each person thought 
proper. 

On the 19th of April, the queen returned to Seton ; and 
Bothwell remained in Edinburgh to preside at a banquet, 
to which he had invited all the nobles who had been pres- 
ent at the five days' session of Parliament. As this enter- 
tainment took place at a tavern kept by a person named 
Ainslie, it is still spoken of in history as " Ainslie's Sup- 
per," and is remarkable for the disgraceful bond that was 
signed at its conclusion. The noblemen pledged them- 
selves by a solemn vow that, in case any person should 
at any period of the future accuse Bothwell of the murder 
of which he had been acquitted, they would defend him 
to the death ; and they united in declaring that they 
considered him, though a married man, a proper person to 
recommend to their widowed sovereign for a husband, 
adding : " In case any one should presume, directly or 
indirectly, openly or under pretence, to hinder or disturb 
said marriage, so far as it may please our sovereign lady 
to allow, we pledge our lives and property against them, 
as we shall answer to God. And in case we do anything 
to the contrary, may we never thereafter have reputation 
or credit, but be accounted unworthy and faithless trai- 
tors." The Earl of Eglinton did not like the nature of this 
bond, and slipped away to avoid signing it. 

As there were two honest men, Lords Herries and 
Seton, whose names were subscribed, they must have been 
drinking to excess, and have acted under the delirium of 
intoxication. But, subsequently, they, as well as the 
others, pretended that they were compelled to sign through 
fear, for there were two hundred armed men in the court, 
and at the door of the room where they supped, entirely 



2/6 Mary Stuart, 

at Bothwell's service. But such an excuse was no less 
absurd than cowardly; for, even if Bothwell had been 
able to compel the peers to unite in an act disgraceful to 
themselves and injurious to the honor of the queen, he 
could not have prevented them from protesting against 
such an outrage afterwards. They did not do so, because 
their excuse was utterly false, the only point to be urged 
in their favor being that Bothwell undoubtedly assured 
them that it was the queen's wish that they should sub- 
scribe to the bond. 

On the very next day, Bothwell availed himself of a 
mutiny of the guard at Seton to tell the queen of the 
bond, and to urge her to regard it with favor, seeing how 
much he could do in her defence if he became her hus- 
band. But she gave him no encouragement ; for he says, 
" Her answer corresponded nothing with my desire." 

Mary left Seton on Monday, the 21st, for Stirling, stop- 
ping at Edinburgh for a few hours to sign papers. That 
she refused Bothwell's escort as high sheriff of the Lothians 
on this occasion shows that she did not favor his presump- 
tuous offer. She proceeded to Callander the same day, 
and was attended by the Earl of Huntley, Lethington, Sir 
James Melville, and other gentlemen of her household, 
besides her ladies. As soon as she arrived at Stirling, her 
son was brought to her ; but she hugged and kissed the 
little fellow so eagerly that he cried from terror, and 
refused to stay with her. During the one month of sepa- 
ration, he had quite forgotten her ; and the heavy black 
veil she wore frightened him so much that even the bright 
red apple which she took from her pocket failed to stop 
his tears. He turned angrily away, and she gave the 
apple to his nurse. This incident would scarcely deserve 
mention but for the fact that it formed the foundation of 
the atrocious report that the apple contained poison, which 



1567- Mary Stuart. 277 

the queen hoped to administer to her child. The apple 
was thrown to a grayhound, that died after eating it, and 
this gave rise to the suspicion. 

Queen Mary left Stirling Castle on the morning of the 
23d, little dreaming that she was taking her last farewell 
of the spot where she had passed her happiest days, and 
of her beloved child. When she bestowed on him her 
parting embrace, she delivered him into the hands of the 
Earl of Mar, from whom she exacted a solemn promise 
that he would guard his precious charge from every peril, 
and never give him up, under any pretext whatever, with- 
out her consent. When about four miles from Stirling, 
the queen grew so alarmingly ill that she was obliged to 
enter a cottage by the wayside, to wait until she was well 
enough to resume her journey. It was a remarkable coin- 
cidence that Darnley had become ill in the same manner 
just after leaving Stirling Castle ; and, as Mar was then 
governor, and his nephew, Moray, the all-powerful ruler at 
court, it looks very much as though some deadly drug had 
been administered to both. These two intriguers subse- 
quently ruled Scotland, under the shadow of the infant 
prince's name, and both entered into secret treaties with 
the English sovereign for the murder of Mary Stuart. 

In consequence of the detention caused by her illness, 
the queen did not reach Linlithgow until the night of the 
24th. Bothwell rode boldly out the west port of Edin- 
burgh at the head of a thousand mounted followers, appar- 
ently in the performance of his duty as high sheriff, which 
required him to meet her majesty at the border of the 
county, and conduct her to her palace at Holyrood. His 
real object was to capture her in some lonely part of the 
road ; but she had made the journey from Linlithgow so 
much faster than usual that she was within three-quarters 
of a mile of the castle, and almost under the walls of 



2/8 Mary Stuart. 

Edinburgh, when she encountered the Border chief with 
his thousand horsemen. Resistance was out of the ques- 
tion ; the attendants were overpowered and disarmed, 
almost before they were aware of what had happened, and 
Bothwell, dashing forward, seized the queen's bridle-rein, 
and, turning her horse's head, hurried her away with him 
to Dunbar as his prisoner. She suspected no evil ; for 
she had a right to look to her lord admiral for protection, 
and he deceitfully assured her that she was in imminent 
danger, and that he had come to provide for her personal 
safety by conducting her to one of his castles. 

Meantime, the startling outcry that the queen's high- 
ness had been treasonably beset by the Earl of Bothwell 
and his military force, prevented from entering her own 
capital, and carried away captive with her lord chancel- 
lor, secretary of state, and vice-chamberlain, towards 
Dunbar, created intense excitement in Edinburgh. The 
alarm bell rang, and all the valiantly disposed citizens 
flew to arms for the rescue of their sovereign. But their 
loyal intention was prevented by the provost and his 
fellow-traitors, who instantly closed the gates, and pointed 
the castle guns, assuring them at the same time that what 
had been done was with her highness' own consent, for 
that she and the Earl of Bothwell perfectly understood 
each other. Thus was the unfortunate queen deprived of 
the timely assistance that might have prevented her horri- 
ble fate. Whatever representations were made by the 
traitorous lords against Queen Mary's character, certain 
it is that the Acts of the first Parliament of James VI. 
declared that her abduction by Bothwell was forcible, as 
well as her imprisonment, and that her marriage with him 
was compulsory. Sir James Melville, who was at Dunbar 
Castle at the time, declares that the queen could not but 
marry Bothwell after what had occurred against her will. 






Tin 




CHARLES V. OF GERMANY. 



1567. Mary Stuart. 281 

Mary's threats of vengeance were answered by a proof 
of her utter helplessness ; for Bothwell exultingly dis- 
played the bond in which the majority of her peers and 
privy councillors had shamelessly pledged themselves to 
bring about a marriage between him and her, in spite of 
all who might presume to oppose it. Astounded at this 
document, and the signatures, Mary knew that her cause 
was hopeless. In her own description of the predicament 
in which she found herself, she says of Bothwell, " He gave 
us little space to meditate with ourselves, ever pressing us 
with his suit. In the end, when we saw no hope of getting 
rid of him, never man in Scotland once making an effort 
to procure our deliverance, for, as it doth appear by their 
own handwriting and the time, he had won them all, we 
were compelled to mitigate our displeasure, and began to 
think upon what he had propounded." 

No sooner had Bothwell got the queen inextricably 
under his control than he hurried forward the divorce pro- 
ceedings between himself and his countess, Janet Gordon, 
who had shown her eagerness to be rid of him, because 
he had treated her badly. When the sentence was at last 
pronounced, iriC both Protestant and Roman Catholic 
courts, and Bothwell saw that no sort of demonstration 
was made, either by the nobles or commons, for the liber- 
ation of the queen, he conducted her, under a strong 
guard, to Edinburgh, When they entered the town, the 
men, fearing at some future date to be brought under the 
penalties of treason, for assisting to force their sovereign 
to any measures, threw away their spears. Thereupon 
the queen would have proceeded to her own palace of 
Holyrood, but Bothwell seized the bridle, turned her 
horse's head, and lead her captive to the castle, then in 
charge of his confederate. Sir James Balfour. Here, 
Mary found herself subjected to the same restraint as at 



282 Mary Stuart. 

Dunbar, her chamber door being guarded by armed men, 
and not one faithful friend or counsellor being permitted 
to speak to her. A number of her nobles met in a 
chamber of the palace, and signed a second bond, declar- 
ing that the marriage between the queen and the Earl of 
Bothwell was very proper, because he alone was able in 
the Lothians and on the Borders to see good order kept. 
These were the men who were, for the most part, in secret 
league with the English faction for dethroning the queen, 
as soon as they had succeeded in accomplishing this 
abhorrent wedlock. 

Bothwell, whose blind ambition rendered him their will- 
ing tool, now drove matters forward with a high hand. 
On the 8th of May, the day after his sentence of divorce 
was pronounced, he ordered his intention of marriage 
with the queen to be proclaimed at St. Giles' Church. 
John Cairnis, the reader, whose duty it was to proclaim 
the banns, positively refused to do so. Bothwell then 
sent his kinsman, Thomas Hepburn, to Mr. Craig, the 
minister, enjoining him to do as he wished. Craig asked 
Hepburn whether he had brought the queen's warrant ; 
and Hepburn was forced to acknowledge that he had not. 
Craig very properly declined to make the proclamation 
without it. Next day. Sir John Bellenden, the justice- 
clerk, brought a paper, in the form of a letter, bearing the 
queen's signature, to the effect that she was not in cap. 
tivity, and wished him to proceed, as he had been re- 
quested. 

Of course, Mary's signature had been forced from her ; 
otherwise it would have been produced before. It was on 
Friday that Craig published the banns ; and, at the same 
time, he added a solemn protest against the marriage, as 
unsuitable, both for the sovereign and her people, calling 
on God and the consrrefration to bear witness to his re- 



n^- Mary Stuart. 283 

luctance to become in any way instrumental therein. His 
voice, however, was the only one that was publicly raised 
against it. In a furious passion, Bothwell summoned 
Craig before the council, he presiding, and fiercely called 
the courageous minister to account for his protest. Craig 
was not in the least intimidated, and maintained that he 
had only done his duty, in laying down the law, which 
he then and there repeated, adding: "The suspicion of 
the king's murder, which your trial has not removed, will 
only be confirmed by your present proceedings ; and I 
assure you that, if I be compelled to publish the banns 
again next Sunday, I shall speak my mind still more 
plainly than before, in the face of my whole congrega- 
tion." Bothwell promised him a rope for his reward ; but 
Craig was as good as his word, and on Sunday, the nth, 
spoke in much stronger language of the impropriety of 
the marriage, which he pronounced illegal. In conclu- 
sion, he said : " And here I also wish all men to cease 
from setting up papers, and from secret whisperings. Let 
•those that have aught to say, say it openly, or else hold 
their peace." Nobody ventured to speak. 

Bothwell next proceeded to drag his now passive victim 
to the Court of Session in the Tolbooth, where she went 
through the farce of declaring herself at liberty, and 
under no personal restraint whatever, adding : " Although 
I have been highly offended with the Earl of Bothwell for 
his late proceedings, I have now forgiven him in consider- 
ation of the many services he has rendered me, and I in- 
tend to promote him to further honors." 

After this, Bothwell conducted the queen to Holyrood 
Abbey, and went himself to the lodgings of Du Croc, the 
French ambassador, where he spent four hours in trying 
to persuade him to be present at his marriage. Du Croc 
positively refused, and nothing could shake his resolution. 



284 Mary Sttiart. 

At five o'clock on the afternoon of the same day, the 
ceremony of creating Bothwell Duke of Orkney was per- 
formed in Holyrood Abbey. The Earl of Rothes carried 
the sword of state before the queen, the Earl of Crawford 
the sceptre, and the Earl of Huntley the crown ; the 
heralds in armor also walked before her majesty, Bothwell 
and others following. When Mary had been placed on 
her throne, the heralds went out with Bothwell and pres-' 
ently returned in procession, followed by the Laird of 
Skirling, bearing a blue banner with the Earl of Bothwell's 
arms ; then came the earl himself in a red robe, edged 
and lined with fur, and led between two earls. Her maj- 
esty placed the ducal coronet on his head with her own 
hands, according to the custom on such occasions, and 
thus conferred on him the new title. She then knighted 
Sir James Colborne, Patrick Whitlaw, Patrick Hepburn, 
and Robert Arniston, and pardoned young Kerr of Cess- 
ford, who had been in prison for several months for the 
murder of his father-in-law, the Abbot of Kelso. 

Notwithstanding all that had passed, Mary Stuart ought 
rather to have died than so degrade herself as to marry 
Bothwell ; but her health and spirits were broken ; she had 
been deceived and betrayed, until she was thoroughly un- 
nerved ; in short, she was no longer the same noble, high- 
minded woman she had been, and she yielded to a dire 
necessity. The contract of marriage was executed on 
the 14th of May, and then her majesty granted a formal 
pardon to the noblemen who had signed the bond at the 
Ainslie supper. At four o'clock the next morning, she 
and Bothwell were married by the Protestant Bishop of 
Orkney, assisted by Mr. Craig. 

When out of the power of her brutal oppressor, Mary 
thus wrote to her envoy in France, and as her message 
was intended for the pope, she would not have dared to 



1567. Mary Stuart. 285 

make a false statement : " Tell to his holiness the grief 
we suffered when we were made prisoner by one of our 
subjects, the Earl of Bothwell, and led as prisoner with 
the Earl of Huntley, the chancellor, and our secretary, 
together, to the Castle of Dunbar, and afterwards to the 
Castle of Edinburgh, where we were detained against our 
will in the hands of the said Earl of Bothwell, until such 
time as he had procured a pretended divorce between 
himself and the sister of the said Lord of Huntley, his 
wife, our near relative , and we were constrained to yield 
our consent, yet against our will, to him. Therefore your 
holiness is supplicated to take order on this, that we are 
made quit of the said indignity, by means of a process at 
Rome, and commission sent to Scotland, to the bishops 
and other Catholic judges, as to your holiness seemeth 
best, as will be more particularly understood at length by 
the memorial which will be given in by the Bishop of 
Ross. 

Mary's behavior at these unhallowed nuptials shows 
how she detested them, for there was no display, no 
pageantry, and no public entertainments for the people, 
as was the custom on the occasion of royal marriages. 
All was silent without the palace, and misery within. 
Mary did not discard her widow's weeds for Darnley for 
several days after she became the wife of Bothwell, and 
when she appeared in rich attire, bedecked with jewels, 
everybody observed how little they were in keeping with 
the sad expression of her countenance. 

The day after her marriage, the queen sent for Du 
Croc, who had refused to be present at the ceremony, and 
told him, in the presence of her husband, that he must not 
be surprised at her sorrowful appearance, for she could 
not rejoice, and never should again. All she desired was 
death. The next day, being alone in a room with Both- 



286 Mary Stuart. 

well, she was heard to scream and threaten to kill herself, 
and the captain of the guard reported that she called for 
a knife for the purpose of self-destruction. 

Bothwell, exulting in the success of his boldness, wrote 
to announce his marriage to the King of France, the 
queen-mother, and the Cardinal de Lorraine, besides 
other friends of Mary. " We trust," he says, " that no 
nobleman being in our state and case would have left 
anything undone that we have attempted. The place and 
promotion truly is great, but yet, with God's grace, neither 
it nor any other accident shall ever be able to make us 
forget any part of our duty to any nobleman, or other of 
our friends. Her majesty might well have married with 
men of greater birth and estimation, but, we are well as- 
sured, never with one more affectionately inclined to do 
her honor and service." 

The long projected revolution was now steadily pro- 
gressing. Mary was warned by the French ambassador 
that her brother, the Earl of Moray, whom she supposed to 
be still on the Continent, was in England practising with 
the council there, little to her good, and speaking worse 
of her than became a subject, much less one so nearly 
connected with her by ties of blood. Morton, the active 
partner of Moray in the deep game he was playing for the 
sovereignty of Scotland, now withdrew himself from the 
court of Holyrood, crossed the water to Fifeshire, and 
took up his residence at his conveniently situated house 
at Aberdour. Sir Robert Melville, too, Mary's ambassa- 
dor to the court of England, was one of the secret agents 
of the conspirators against her. His brother. Sir James 
Melville, her most trusted servant, whom she fondly 
counted on as a sincere friend and adviser, was the per- 
son employed by her enemies to arrange with Sir James 
Balfour for the delivery of Edinburgh Castle, with all the 



1567. Mary StiiarL 287 

artillery, plate, jewels, and regalia, into the hands of 
Morton, when the proper moment should arrive. Leth- 
ington, having done all the mischief he could, remained 
with the queen as the spy of England and the unsuspected 
co-adjutor of his fellow-conspirators for her ruin. In the 
course of a few days, however, Bothwell detected his per- 
fidy, and picked a quarrel with him in the queen's cham- 
ber, during which he drew his dagger, and would have 
killed him, but Mary threw herself between them, and 
saved Lethington's life at the risk of her own. He fied 
the next day to his brother-in-law, the Earl of Athol, at 
that time the head of the league to deliver the queen 
from the hands of her tyrant husband. In order, there- 
fore, to counteract the general impression that Mary was 
held in restraint, Bothwell made her ride abroad with him 
every day, and provided public shows for the amusement* 
of the people, at which they both appeared. 

During the month of misery that Mary was doomed to 
pass as the bride of Bothwell, she had so little money 
that she was compelled to reduce her household expenses, 
to discharge many of her servants, and even to send some 
of her plate to be coined at the mint. In her name. Both- 
well despatched a messenger to the confederate lords, 
who were now assembling in force at Stirling, to endeavor 
to effect a loan, but without success ; and it was publicly 
declared that they were taking up arms to deliver the 
queen from his cruel tyranny and thraldom. This was 
merely a pretext to raise an army, many a high-spirited, 
chivalric volunteer fancying that he was arming himself 
to fight for his sovereign instead of against her. There is 
even reason to believe that Mary herself was deceived, 
and that, supposing her deliverance was at hand, she held 
secret communication with the leaders of the insurrection. 
She was in a deplorable state of health, and her heart 



288 Mary Stuart. 

yearned after her infant, the only tie that bound her to 
life. She sent a message to the Earl of Mar, expressing 
her desire to visit Stirling, but received the reply that he 
could not permit her to do so, if accompanied by more 
than a dozen persons. As Stirling was then occupied by 
the forces of the confederate lords, of course Bothwell had 
no intention of allowing her to go there. 

Bothwell now became a regular attendant at the ser- 
mons ; but he gained nothing thereby, for the lords who 
had signed the bond recommending him as the proper 
husband for their sovereign became foremost in denounc- 
ing the marriage, and they communicated their plans to 
the Queen of England, Her majesty objected to nothing 
but the proposed inauguration of the infant prince, which 
she feared might, at some future day, be put in practice 
against herself, in case of dispute between her and her 
nobles. The boy being presumptive heir to the Britannic 
realm made him a prince of no ordinary importance, and 
Elizabeth was so anxious to get possession of him that 
she instructed the Earl of Bedford to treat with the asso- 
ciate lords, through her secret-service man, Kirkaldy of 
Grange, to see whether they would not be content to send 
him to England to be placed in charge of his grandmother, 
the Countess of Lennox. The wily traitors understood 
their game too well to be thus outwitted ; the prince, 
about whose safety they were professing great concern, 
was in their keeping, and each one of them had his eye 
on the regency as soon as the child could be crowned 
King of Scotland. Besides, they knew that if they were 
to hand this representative of the royal line of Bruce and 
Stuart over to the old enemy, the very stones of Edin- 
burgh would rise against the proceeding. On the other 
hand, as they depended on Elizabeth for assistance in 
their revolutionary enterprise, they flattered her so adroitly 



is67- Mary Stuart. 289 

that for years she was expecting to get Mary Stuart's son 
into her hands. 

On the 28th of May, a proclamation was issued in the 
queen's name, requiring all the men of the southern coun- 
ties to meet at Melrose on the 15th of the following 
month, with fifteen days' provisions, to proceed with her 
majesty and her lieutenant, the Duke of Orkney, her 
spouse, against the insurgents on the Border. Suspecting 
that the levy was to be used against them, the confederate 
lords determined to strike the first blow by marching to 
Edinburgh a week before this meeting was to take place, 
and surprising the queen and Bothwell at Holyrood Abbey. 
The co-operation of Sir James Balfour, governor of the 
castle, had been previously secured, 

Bothwell got wind of their designs, and, being destitute 
of the means of defence, retreated on the night of 
June 6 to Borthwick Castle, carrying the queen with him. 
But, before leaving, he issued a proclamation, in the 
queen's name, contradicting the tales that had been circu- 
lated, that the prince was in danger from the murderers of 
his father, by a solemn declaration that such wicked 
reports could not be true since she had placed her son 
in such safe hands that the security of his person and the 
careful culture of his mind need not be doubted, all 
things having been ordered according to the ancient cus- 
toms of the realm, by those to whom the charge rightfully 
belonged. Little did she dream that the Earl of Mar, 
who had the care of her boy, and in whom she placed 
unbounded confidence, was at that moment marching 
with the rest of the lords to Edinburgh, and uniting with 
them in the make-believe that they were forced to take up 
arms in defence of the prince's person. 

When the queen left Edinburgh for Borthwick, the 
keeper of her wardrobe stores delivered to her faithful 



290 Mary Stuart. 

attendant, Courcelles, for her use, a silver basin, a silver 
kettle for heating water, a small cabinet with lock and 
key, and two thousand pins. Bothwell probably never 
expected to return, for he sent all his papers, his plate, 
and jewels, besides other articles of personal property, to 
Dunbar. 

Having placed the queen in safety within the massive 
walls of the almost impregnable fortress of Borthwick, 
under the charge of his friend, the Laird of Crookston, 
Bothwell left her for the first time since he had captured 
her on the road to Edinburgh, and proceeded to Melrose, 
where he hoped to gather a force large enough to attack 
the associate lords. After two or three days' absence, he 
returned without having succeeded, and he was in such a 
bad temper in consequence that he declared his intention 
to send away all the queen's French servants, some of 
whom had been her faithful and affectionate attendants 
and companions from childhood. This could not have in- 
creased the queen's love for her oppressor. Had there 
been the slightest confidence or unity of purpose between 
this couple, they might have remained in perfect security 
at Borthwick Castle, for it was built of solid blocks of stone, 
and stood on a mound surrounded by a moat and high 
walls of defence, flanked by fortified towers. The windows 
were nearly thirty feet from the ground, and there was but 
one door of entrance to the central fortress, the staircases 
of which were so steep, narrow, and winding, that they could 
be ascended by only one person at a time, and the labyrinth 
of dark arches leading to them was so low that it was nec- 
essary in some places for a man to bend almost double 
before he could pass under. 

The associate lords assembled in council on the nth of 
June, and declared themselves ready to attempt the deliv- 
ery of the queen's most noble person from the captivity 



1567. 



Mary Stuart. 



291 



and restraint in which she had been now for a long time 
held by the murderer of her husband, who had usurped 
the government of her reahn. And thev exhorted all her 




EDINBURGH CASTLE AND HILL. 



subjects who would not be esteemed parties to the afore- 
said crimes and treasons to join them in taking up arms 
for that honorable enterprise. The next day, they posted a 
proclamation at the market-cross, in language still plainer, 
regarding the outrageous treatment to which their queen 



292 Mary Stuart. 

had been subjected, the compulsory nature of her marriage, 
and the restraint in which she was held by Bothvvell, for 
which cause they declared that they, the nobles of Scot- 
land, minded with all their forces to deliver the queen's 
most noble person from captivity and prison, and to pun- 
ish Bothwell for the murder of the late King Henry, for 
the detention of the queen, and for the wicked designs he 
meditated against the prince, charging all who would not 
take part at once with them in their righteous and loyal 
enterprise, to quit Edinburgh within four hours. 

The appeal was so heartily responded to that an at- 
tempt to surprise Borthwick Castle was made that very- 
night. Their force was great, yet, calculating on the 
strength of the place, they determined to employ a strat- 
agem, and sent a small party forward to cry at the gates 
for protection, and to announce themselves as friends 
chased by the rebel band, thinking by this means to 
obtain entrance. Bothwell, who was just preparing for 
bed, was far too cunning to bite at such a bait ; yet, 
strange to say, he who had shown himself to be a man 
of indomitable courage and resolution became suddenly 
panic-striken, and escaped with the son of the castellan, 
through a postern door in the wall that surrounded the 
castle, leaving the queen to shift for herself, with not 
more than seven or eight persons in her company. The 
only probable explanation of such conduct is that the 
queen, being, as the associate lords had themselves de- 
clared, an unwilling captive within the walls, refused to 
stand by him if he attempted to defend the castle, and 
had declared her intention to denounce him as a traitor,, 
in the event of its capture by the assailants. At any rate, 
it is certain that a woman of her energetic and adventu- 
rous character would not have hesitated to share the 
flight of her husband, if she had loved him. No doubt^ 



1567- Mary SUiart. 293 

she would have thrown open the gates of the castle to the 
associate lords if the castellan and his men, who were 
■devoted to the interests of Bothwell, had not prevented. 

The lords, with their strong force, surrounded the for- 
tress, calling on Bothwell, the traitor, murderer, and 
butcher, to come forth, and maintain his challenge offered 
to those who would dare to charge him with the murder 
of the king. Some of the men made such coarse, brutal 
speeches about the queen that she was startled. For the 
first time, she became acquainted with the unfriendly 
feelings of the populace towards her, and she felt what a 
mistake it would be were she to place herself in their 
power. 

Though twelve hundred men surrounded the fortress, in 
the absence of cannon, they could not capture it ; they 
therefore fell back to Dalkeith. Then Mary despatched 
the young Laird of Reres with a message to Sir James 
Balfour, the governor of Edinburgh Castle, enjoining him 
to hold it for her at any cost, and to fire on the lords if 
they attempted to enter the town. At the same time she 
"wrote to Du Croc, the French ambassador, begging him to 
confer with the lords, and to inquire of them, in her name, 
"what was their real intention, and what they proposed 
doing. Du Croc represented to them the inconsistency 
of their proceedings with their former actions, telling them 
that they had not only cleared Bothwell at his trial, and 
confirmed his acquittal in Parliament, but had united in 
recommending him as a husband for the queen. He 
added : " If you changed your mind in consequence of 
his carrying her away to Dunbar, why did you not state 
your objections after he brought her majesty back to 
Edinburgh, for he was in the castle five or six days before 
the marriage took place ? " Their replies were nothing 
but a tissue of falsehoods, and protestations that they were 



294 Mary Stuart. 

determined to protect their prince from his father's 
murderer, an epithet that applied as well to Morton and 
Lethington as to Bothwell. In her emergency, the queen 
was not destitute of friends, for that same day the Earl 
of Huntley, Lords Boyd and Galloway, and Hamilton, 
Archbishop of St. Andrew's, marched into Edinburgh, and 
published a proclamation requiring all loyal men to 
buckle on their armor and proceed to the relief of the 
queen's majesty, who was besieged at Borthwick Castle. 
Unfortunately for her, they were stopped by the provost 
and forced to retreat to the castle which Sir James Balfour, 
though in secret understanding with the conspirators, 
continued to hold in the queen's name until he should 
see which way the balance would turn. 

Had Mary been content to remain quietly where she 
was, all might yet have been well with her ; but, finding 
herself relieved from the terror of Bothwell's presence, she 
could not resist the opportunity of making an effort to 
regain her liberty. At midnight, disguised in the costume 
of a cavalier, booted and spurred, she stole from her 
chamber unattended, and, gliding softly down the turret 
stairs, let herself from the window in the banqueting-hall, 
a distance of no less than twenty-eight feet, in safety to 
the ground. She passed through the same low postern in 
the wall by which Bothwell had made his escape, and, 
leaving everybody in the castle wrapt in sleep, walked 
forth into the night unobserved, and without a single 
person either to defend or guide her. She mounted a 
nag which she found bridled and saddled outside the 
wall, at the foot of the mound ; this had probably been 
provided for her by some faithful person of low degree to 
whom she had confided her intentions. The royal fugitive 
soon became bewildered in the pathless labyrinth of 
glens, swamps, and thorny brakes that make up the wild 



1567- 



Mary Stuart. 



295 



district about Eorthwick Castle, and could not find her 
way to whatever place of refuge it was her intention to 
seek. She must have travelled round and round the 
fortress, for, after wandering all night, she had made so 
little progress that near the Black Castle, scarcely two 




miles from the place she had left, she was met by Both- 
well himself, at the head of a party of his vassals. Of 
course she had then no choice but to accompany him 
whithersoever he pleased to take her, and he hurried her 
forthwith to Dunbar once more. She performed the whole 
journey riding on a man's saddle. 



296 Mary Stuart. 

The night Bothwell had deserted the queen at Borth- 
wick, he came very near falling into the hands of his 
enemies, for he and his companions were pursued and 
compelled to separate and fly in different directions. 
Young Crookston was captured; but Bothwell, though 
the men were within arrow-shot of him, had the good luck 
to escape, and he kept himself well out of the way as 
long as the confederate lords and their army swarmed 
around the castle. Poor Mary had the ill luck to cross his 
path because she had not got beyond his domains during 
that long night, and he had been lurking in the neighbor- 
hood among his vassal lairds and kinsmen. 



CHAPTER XII. 

[A.D. 1567.] The day after the queen and Bothwell 
arrived at Dunbar, news reached them that the associate 
lords had entered Edinburgh without meeting with the 
least resistance, because the provost had joined their band. 
There was no time to be lost ; messengers were sent in all 
directions, with letters from her majesty, to arouse the 
country in her defence. This call was responded to so 
readily that Bothwell, flattering himself with the belief 
that his unpopularity was confined to the metropolis, was 
eager to attack his antagonists. So, taking the queen 
with him, on Saturday, June 14, he left Dunbar, at ten 
o'clock in the morning, and advanced to Haddington. 
But he halted by the way to cause an artfully worded 
proclamation to be made, declaring that the lords had 
taken up arms under false pretences, and urging all loyal 
subjects to rally for the protection of their sovereign. 
Large numbers continued to join the royal standard, which 
so elated Bothwell that he pushed on the same night to 
Seton, arriving there only a couple of hours before day- 
light. Without allowing the queen time for refreshment 
or repose, they were in the saddle again, and on the road 
to Edinburgh, by five o'clock in the morning. 

The associate lords, having had information from their 
spies in the queen's train that Bothwell expected to take 
them by surprise, were still earlier in the field. They 
marched to Musselburgh, where they refreshed their men 
and quietly awaited the arrival of the royal army. They 

297 



298 Mary Stuart. 

had three thousand men, well armed, most of whom were 
gentlemen and their retainers ; while the queen's army did 
not amount to two thousand, including Bothwell's Border 
force, and the majority were peasants, without military 
training or experience, unprovided with the proper arms 
or food. Bothwell had made no arrangements for supply- 
ing them, and they were faint and worn out from their long 
march of the preceding day, neither they nor the queen 
having broken their fast that morning. 

Both armies assembled at Musselburgh, about five miles 
from the metropolis ; but Bothwell took possession of the 
rising ground of Carberry Hill, just above where the dis- 
astrous battle of Pinkie Cleugh had been fought, twenty 
years before. Neither army knew to a certainty what the 
fight was to be about ; nor did either appear at all anxious 
for the encounter. Their principal desire being to get the 
vantage-ground, and to avoid having the sun in their eyes, 
they continued looking towards each other throughout the 
day from opposite hills. As for the queen, she certainly 
did not comprehend until too late that the army raised 
under pretext of effecting her deliverance was to be used 
for her destruction. 

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Du Croc, the French 
ambassador, w^ent to the rebel lords and offered his ser- 
vices to mediate between them and her majesty. They 
appeared very glad to see him, and said : " If the queen 
be willing to withdraw herself from the wretch who holds 
her captive, we will recognize her as our sovereign, and 
we will serve her on our knees, as the humblest and most 
obedient of subjects. Or, on the other hand, if Bothwell 
will come forward, between the two armies, and make good 
his challenge to meet in single combat any one who main- 
tains that he was the murderer of the late king, we will 
produce a champion, and a second, or, if he so desire, ten 



1567- Mary SUiart. 299 

or twelve." The grave diplomatist treated this proposal 
as too extravagant to be laid before the queen ; but they 
vowed that they would name no other, and that they would 
rather be buried alive than not have the death of their 
king investigated and punished; for otherwise they would 
not feel that they were performing their duty to God. 
Thus they spoke of their late adversary and victim, of 
whose death Lethington was the chief contriver. Du Croc 
begged them to allow him to see what he could do with 
the queen, observing that, as he knew her to be of most 
excellent character and goodness of heart, he thought 
perhaps he might devise some means with her for prevent- 
ing the shedding of blood. At first, they were unwilling ; 
but, after considerable parleying among themselves, Leth- 
ington said: "As a representative of the king whose 
friendship we are most anxious to preserve, we will allow 
you to pass in safety between our two armies." 

With an escort of fifty of their horsemen, Du Croc 
crossed the little brook in the valley, and preceded by 
runners, who were sent forward to announce his approach, 
he was brought to the outposts of Queen Mary's army. 
He was instantly conducted into the presence of her maj- 
esty; and, after having saluted her and kissed her hand, 
he expressed his regret at the sad state of her affairs, and 
assured her that it would cause the greatest concern to her 
royal mother-in-law and the King of France to see her in 
trouble. He then informed her that he had conferred 
with the lords, who had declared themselves her humble 
and affectionate subjects. " It looks very ill of them," 
rejoined Mary, " to act in contradiction to their own sig- 
natures, after they have themselves married me to the 
duke, having previously acquitted him of the deed of 
which they now accuse him. But, nevertheless, if they 
are willing to acknowledge their duty, and to ask my par- 



300 Mary Stuart. 

don, I shall be ready to accord it, and to receive them 
with open arms." 

At this moment, Bothwell, who had been inspecting the 
disposition of his men, came up. Du Croc continues : 
" We saluted each other, but I did not offer to receive his 
embrace ; he asked me, in a loud, blustering tone, that his 
army might hear, what it was the lords would be at. I 
answered him, quite as loudly, that I had just come from 
speaking with them, and that they had assured me they 
were very humble servants and subjects of the queen, but, 
lowering my voice, I added, ' They are your mortal foes.' 
Then he asked whether the assurances they had given to 
him were not known to everybody." Bothwell alluded to 
the pledge they had made to defend him with their lives 
from all who should accuse him of Darnley's murder, " I 
have never," he said, " intended to offend one of them, 
but rather to please all, and they speak of me as they do 
only because they are envious of my greatness. But For- 
tune is free to any who can win her ; and there is not one 
of them who would not gladly be in my place." Then, 
affecting an air of tenderness and anxiety for the distress 
of the queen, he begged the ambassador, "for the love 
of God," to put her out of pain, as he saw she was in ex- 
treme trouble ; and to spare the effusion of blood, to go 
back to the rebel lords and propose in his name to try the 
cause by single combat with any one of them that would 
advance and fight with him hand to hand, in sight of the 
two armies, providing only that their champion were a 
man of suitable rank, as he had the honor to be husband 
of the queen. He added, " And my cause is so just that 
I am sure God will decide for me." Thereupon, Mary 
declared that she would espouse his quarrel, and esteem 
it as her own. Nevertheless, she objected to the issue of 
a single combat, and was seconded by Du Croc, who con- 



1567- Mary Stuart. 301 

sidered such a proceeding absurd. At the same time, he 
expressed his desire that he might be able to say or do 
something that might be of service in preventing a battle. 
Then Bothwell, of whom he had studiously taken little no- 
tice, cut him short by telling him that he could not talk to 
him just then, for his adversaries were approaching, having 
already crossed the brook ; " but," he added, " if you have 
any desire to see the encounter, I can promise you fine 
pastime, for there will be good fighting." " For the sake 
of the queen, as well as the armies, I should be very sorry 
to see it come to that," returned the ambassador. " I shall 
win the day ! " cried Bothwell, boastfully, "for I have four 
thousand men and three pieces of artillery, whereas the 
lords have no artillery, and only three thousand five hun- 
dred men." " But you have no noblemen of any weight," 
observed Du Croc, " and must depend on yourself alone, 
while there are clever heads on the other side ; moreover, 
there appears to be a great deal of discontent and mur- 
muring among your people." He then took his leave of 
the queen, whose eyes were filled with tears. 

When Du Croc returned to the rebel lords, he told them 
that her majesty, with her usual clemency, had declared 
herself not oi.iy willing to forgive, but to receive them 
affectionately if they would acknowledge their duty and 
submit the dispute to the decision of Parliament. For 
answer, they clapped their helmets on their heads and 
bade him retire from the field before the battle began. 

Meanwhile Kirkaldy of Grange rode about with two 
hundred horsemen, thinking to get between Bothwell 
and Dunbar, thus to prevent his escape. The queen, who 
was watching the manoeuvres of the enemy, asked who he 
was, and, on being told, sent the laird of Ormiston to 
desire him to come and speak with her, which he did after 
obtaining leave of the lords. While he stood conversing 



302 Alary Stuart. 

with her majesty, Bothwell gave directions to a soldier to 
shoot him. Mary observed this and gave a cry, saying, 
" No ! you shall not ^vo me this shame, since I have prom- 
ised that Grange should come and return in safety." 
Bothwell was impelled to this treacherous deed not merely 
by his naturally ferocious and evil nature, but by hearing 
Grange urge the queen to put herself into the hands of 
the lords, telling her, " They will all love and serve your 
grace if only you will abandon him who was the murderer 
of your own husband." Bothwell stoutly denied this 
charge, and again offered to maintain his innocence by 
challenging any man who would assert to the contrary to 
meet him in single combat. Grange promised to send 
him an answer shortly, and, taking leave of the queen, 
returned to the lords, who said, " We are content to have 
you accept Bothwell's challenge." Bothwell replied, 
" Grange is neither an earl nor a lord, therefore cannot 
be my peer." It was his desire to fight with Morton, 
whose friends interposed, saying, " You are of more value 
than a hundred such as Bothwell." Then Patrick Lord 
Lindsay of the Byres stood forth and offered to fight as 
Morton's substitute. Morton handed him his sword, and 
bade him " Go forth and conquer." Lindsay advanced 
before the army, fell on his knees, and uttered a long 
extempore prayer in a loud voice. After these accom- 
plices in the murder which they pretended a desire to 
avenge had made this theatrical display, Bothwell was 
informed that Lord Lindsay was ready to fight with him. 
Though objecting to this adversary as inferior in rank to 
himself, Bothwell advanced on a fine horse ; but while the 
preliminary ceremonies were being arranged, the queen, 
impatient of such follies, sent privately for the laird of 
Grange, and told him that if the lords would really do as 
he had declared to her, she would leave the Earl of Both- 



1567- Mary Stuart. 303 

well and go to them. As they had by that time advanced 
to within two bow-shots, Grange quickly communicated 
the queen's message, and returned to assure her that she 
might depend upon their doing as they had said. She 
then informed Bothwell of her intention, which he vehe- 
mently opposed, saying : " The lords are not to be trusted, 
as you will find to your cost if you are deluded into the 
folly of putting yourself into their hands. Let me be- 
seech you rather to bide the event of the battle, or if you 
prefer delay, retire with me, under the escort of our army, 
to Dunbar, where I will promise to defend you manfully 
until your loyal subjects make head against the lords." 
But so determined was Mary to separate herself from his 
control that nothing he could say had the slightest weight 
with her. " Can any assurance be given me for the safety 
of the duke ? " she asked of Grange. " None," he replied ; 
" they are determined to kill him if they get hold of him." 
Then, observing that the lords were growing impatient of 
the interview, which they suspected was prolonged for the 
purpose of gaining time. Grange took Bothwell by the 
hand and advised him to save himself while he could. 
The queen added, "Go you straight to Dunbar, and I 
will write or send you word what I would have you do." 

Bothwell lost no time in obeying, and when Grange had 
seen him fairly off the field, on the road to Dunbar, he 
returned to announce the news to the lords, who made no 
eiifort to pursue the fugitive. He had been their accom- 
plice and tool in the murder of Darnley, and his capture 
might be attended with fatal consequences to themselves ; 
it was their policy, therefore, rather to favor his escape 
and to get the queen into their hands. They accordingly 
sent Grange up the hill again to receive her majesty, and 
she, advancing to meet him, said : " Laird of Grange, I 
render myself unto you upon the conditions you rehearsed 



304 Mary Stuart. 

to me in the names of the lords." He knelt and kissed 
her hand ; then, after she had been placed on horseback, 
he remounted his black charger and preceded her majesty 
down the hill, holding his helmet high above his head, 
with an air of exultation. There is a picture of Queen 
Mary which represents her as she appeared on this occa- 
sion. She wears a black riding habit, a white ruff, and a 
red and yellow skirt, the royal colors of Scotland. She 
is mounted on a large gray horse, which is led by one of 
her equerries in the royal livery of red and yellow ; a 
young lady on a pony follows the queen, wearing a black 
hat, a white veil, a red jacket, and yellow skirt. This 
was Mary Seton. 

It is impossible to account with accuracy for Bothwell's 
ill judged advance, but no doubt he expected to make him- 
self master of Edinburgh before the arrival of the lords. 
Had he done so he would have kept possession of the 
queen, and continued to usurp her regal power. Certainly 
he never could have calculated that, in the event of failure, 
she would prefer to confide herself to the double-dyed 
traitors who had come against her, to retiring with him 
to Dunbar, to await the arrival of her own partisans ; for 
so he regarded Moray and his force, who were hourly 
expected. 

When the leaders of the rebel host advanced to meet 
the queen she addressed them in these words : " My 
lords, I am come to you, not out of any fear I had for my 
life, nor yet doubting of the victory if matters had come 
to the worst, but to save the effusion of Christian blood ; 
and therefore have I come to you, trusting in your promises 
that you will respect me, and give me the obedience due 
to your native queen and lawful sovereign." 

Morton, who took it upon himself to act as spokesman, 
bending his knee before her in deceitful homage, replied, 




MARY SURRENDERS AT CARBERRY HILL. 



1567- Mary Stuart. 307 

" Here, madam, is the place where your grace should be, 
and here we are ready to defend and obey you as loyally 
as ever the nobles of this realm did your progenitors." 
The next moment there were loud cries from among his 
people of " Burn her! burn the murderess ! " with other epi- 
thets, too coarse for repetition. She perceived at once that 
these insults were part of the perfidious scheme to which 
she had fallen a victim. Indignant, but by no means 
alarmed, she turned to the Earl of Morton, and demanded : 
" What is your purpose ? If it be the blood of your queen 
you desire, take it; I am here to offer it, and no other 
means are needed for revenge." Without replying to this, 
Morton committed her into safe custody ; and this was 
the manner of her arrest. No wonder she exclaimed pas- 
sionately against her own rash folly in confiding in the 
solemn promises of the ungrateful traitors, whom she had 
so recently pardoned, and, yielding to her indignation, 
declared that she would seek the protection of the 
Hamiltons and her other loyal friends, who, she said, 
were near at hand. 

The associate lords had used for the ensign of their 
party that day a white banner on which was painted the 
dead body of Darnley stretched beneath a tree, and at 
his side the little prince kneeling, with his folded hands 
uplifted, and from his lips appeared a label on which was 
written, " Judge and avenge our cause, O Lord ! " This 
was done to excite the passions of the people against the 
queen ; and a description of this banner, as well as of 
everything else that was done, was duly reported to the 
English premier, Cecil, by Sir William Drury, the ambas- 
sador. 

Kirkaldy of Grange, who had been the means of delud- 
ing the queen into the hands of his perfidious party, found 
himself obliged to defend her with his drawn sword from 



3o8 Mary Stuart. 

some of the brutal soldiers on the march to Edinburgh, 
Goaded almost to insanity by the cruelty of her treatment 
and the treachery of her foes, she could not refrain from 
reproaching the Earl of Athol for the part he had played, 
and threatening with her vengeance those in whose 
imaginary sense of honor she had confided. Many a 
bitter tear did she shed that day ; and once she stopped, 
and protested that she neither could nor would proceed 
another step with perjured traitors who had violated their 
solemn promises to her. Thereupon, one of the party 
said, with a sneer, " If your majesty is trying to make 
time in hopes of the Hamiltons coming up, it is scarcely 
worth while ; for there is not an armed man to be seen 
for many miles." 

The conduct of Lord Lindsay touched poor Mary very 
deeply in that hour of distress ; for he had been almost 
like a brother to her from childhood, being the son of her 
faithful lord keeper. She called him to her, and bade 
him give her his hand. He obeyed. " By the hand that 
is now in yours," she said, solemnly, " I will have your 
head for this." Maddened by the taunts of those who 
added insults to perfidy, she was reckless, and said what 
it had been better for her to have left unsaid. Du Croc 
tells Catherine de Medicis : " I had hoped that Queen 
Mary would have used her wonted sweetness of manner 
to the lords when she went over to them, and endeavored 
by all the means in her power to conciliate and please 
them ; but they have assured me that on the road to Edin- 
burgh she never spoke but to threaten them with having 
them all hanged or crucified, and that made them desper- 
ate." There was not one among them who feared her 
threats, or who was not indebted to her for saving him 
from the halter or the axe. 

About nine o'clock on the evening of June 15th, the 



1567- Maty Stuart. 309 

hapless queen was dragged a captive into Edinburgh. 
She was preceded by soldiers bearing the banner that had 
been cunningly devised to fix the suspicion of murder on 
her, while Morton and Athol rode on either side of her. 
She was covered with dust, and her tear-stained face was 
so disfigured as to be scarcely recognizable. The rabble 
hooted and railed at her as she passed along ; but this 
ought not to have surprised her : — 

For the brute crowd, with fickle zeal, 
Applaud each turn of Fortune's wheel, 
And loudest shout when lowest lie 
Exalted worth and station high. 

Instead of conducting the queen to her palace of Holy- 
rood, the confederate traitors lodged her in the town house 
of her false provost, Sir Simon Preston, a huge, grim man- 
sion, called the Black Turnpike, guarded with towers, 
battlements, and a strongly fortified gate, being often 
used as a prison for malefactors before trial. Here, inhu- 
manly deprived of the companionship of her ladies, poor 
Mary was thrust into a room fronting on the noisy street, 
and left to pass the night without even the means of bath- 
ing, or changing her travel-soiled garments. Supper was, 
indeed, placed before her, but she refused to eat, though 
she had partaken of no food for more than four-and- 
twenty hours. 

When morning dawned, Mary showed herself at the 
windows, and called to the people for succor. Her hair 
was dishevelled, and her garments disordered, and she 
presented such a woe-begone spectacle that all who saw 
her were moved to compassion, excepting two wretches of 
soldiers, who brought forward the banner with the por- 
traits of her murdered husband and infant son, and held 
it up before her eyes. At the sight, she screamed aloud. 



3IO Mary SUiart. 

and called on the people either to slay her or to deliver 
her from the cruelty of the false traitors by whom she 
had been deceived, and was thus barbarously treated. 

Her appeal was not entirely without effect, for there 
were still many true hearts in Edinburgh to respond to 
the cry of the desolate, oppressed queen. An indignant 
crowd gathered around the provost's house, and declared 
their intention to take her part, whereupon the lords pre- 
tended that they had intercepted a letter from her to 
Bothwell, which she had written the previous night, to 
declare her intention to rejoin him as soon as she could. 
Of course this was absurd, for she had no means of writ- 
ing a letter, and certainly knew that it would not have 
been delivered had she been able to prepare one. Like 
the rest of their fictions, this one had no foundation in 
fact. They had gathered an army by declaring that it 
was their object to free the queen from the cruel thraldom 
in which she was kept by Bothwell ; their next move was 
to pretend that they had been deceived, for that he was 
the object of her fondest affection, and it was therefore 
necessary to keep her imprisoned. 

It must be remembered that it was only six peers of 
Parliament who had taken it upon themselves to make 
Mary a prisoner ; the vast majority of the nobles were 
either neutral, like Argyll, or were avowedly on her side. 
A loyal army, headed by the chiefs of Hamilton and 
Gordon, Avas already in the field, and so near at hand that 
Sir James Balfour, although he had formed a secret plan, 
with Morton and Lethington, to deliver the castle into 
their hands, waited to fulfil his promise until he should see 
which way the balance would incline. At this critical 
moment, when a reaction of popular feeling was beginning 
to manifest itself, the captive queen unluckily espied Leth- 
ington among the crowd that had gathered around her 



1567- Mary Stuart. 311 

prison, and she opened the window, calling to him, for 
the love of God, to come to her. 

He obeyed and, in reply to her passionate reproaches, 
and her entreaties for aid, told her that the lords were 
her friends, and ready to do anything she could desire if 
she would only show herself of an amicable temper 
towards them, and that her ill treatment was due entirely 
to her angry expressions. She was only too easily pacified, 
and consented to see Morton, Athol, and their confeder- 
ates. They came to her with soothing and penitent 
speeches, expressing regret for the unfortunate misunder- 
standing that had occurred, and declaring that they had 
no intention to put the slightest constraint on her, but 
were ready to conduct her to her own palace, where she 
might be at liberty to exercise her regal authority as she 
pleased, providing only that she would dismiss the mob 
that had assembled around the house. In an evil moment 
for herself, she was induced to speak from the window to 
her honest champions, whom she assured that she was 
under no restraint, and requested to return peacefully to 
their own homes. Her ladies were then admitted, and she 
was allowed to change her clothing. Food was also pro- 
vided, but because, in consequence of her long fast and 
her grief, she was not in condition to partake of meat, a 
report was circulated that she had made a vow not to taste 
flesh until she saw the Earl of Bothwell again. 

Edinburgh was in a state of tumult throughout the day, 
and the queen remained in the provost's house a strictly 
guarded prisoner, in spite of the assurances she had re- 
ceived from the lords. At nine o'clock in the evening she 
was conducted to Holyrood, not as a sovereign, but as a 
captive, for she was compelled to walk all the way, between 
Morton and Athol, guarded by files of soldiers, and ex- 
posed, as on the preceding night, to the brutal insults of 



312 Mary Stuart. 

the rabble. The cunningly devised banner was again dis- 
played, and accompanied by fiend-like yells and cries of 
" Burn her ! drown her ! " 

With tears in her eyes, the insulted queen proclaimed 
her innocence, and said to the people, " I have done noth- 
ing worthy of blame. Why am I handled thus, seeing I 
am a true princess and your native sovereign ? you are 
deceived by false traitors. Good Christians, either take 
my life or free me from this cruelty." 

Her persecutors made the walk as slow and tedious as 
possible, hoping that the mob would seize the queen and 
tear her limb from limb, but she had still too many friends 
for this to be attempted. Besides, the presence of the 
faithful ladies who followed close behind her, ready to die 
for or with her, was no doubt a protection. These were 
Mary Seton, Mary Semphill, Madame Courcelles, Jane 
Kennedy, and Mile. Rallay, good, faithful creatures, who 
shared her imprisonment for many long, weary years. 

Knowing that a numerous body of powerful sympa- 
thizers might be hourly expected, the confederate lords, 
who, in that case, would find themselves in a dreadful 
dilemma, resolved to send their prisoner out of Edinburgh, 
and lock her up in the castle of Lochleven instead. As 
soon as the warrant was drawn up and signed by Lords 
Lindsay and Ruthven, Sir William Douglas, Morton, Mar, 
Glencairn, and others, the queen was roused from her 
sleep in the dead of night, and compelled to take another 
journey. She had no idea whither she was going, or for 
what purpose ; the cruel ruffians Lindsay and Ruthven 
enveloped her from head to foot in a coarse brown riding 
cloak and hood, and carried her from her room. Then 
they put her on a horse, and, followed by a company of 
soldiers, conducted her to the lake, which they crossed in 
a boat. Having reached the other side, she was again 



i 



'SI 




1567- Mary Stuart. 315 

placed in the saddle and forced to ride for several hours. 
Day had dawned when the cavalcade halted on the margin 
of the broad blue waters of Lochleven ; then Mary knew 
that she was to be shut up in that gloomy fortress. 

It was not without considerable resistance that the poor 
queen was made to step into the boat ; and had she been 
able to delay a little longer, she might have been rescued, 
for a band of loyal noblemen, having heard what the 
conspirators were doing, had mounted, with a well armed 
force, and followed hard and fast to Lochleven. But 
they were too late, and the portal of the fortress had just 
closed on the helpless captive when they appeared at the 
water's edge. 

Lochleven Castle, where Mary was doomed to spend 
many weary months, was situated on an island, about five 
acres in extent. Her own lodgings were in the south- 
eastern tower, to which the only approach was through a 
guarded quadrangle, enclosed by lofty stone walls. Ill 
and exhausted as Mary was from loss of rest and mental 
anxiety, her high spirit did not desert her. It was the 
bitterest feature of her imprisonment that she had to sub- 
mit to the coarse society and impertinent espionage of the 
bold, depraved Lady Douglas, who had been selected to 
fill the thankless office of jailer. Instead of treating her 
with the respect due to her exalted rank, this woman 
received her with taunts, telling her she was only a 
usurper, and that her own son, the Earl of Moray, was 
rightful King of Scotland. " He is too honest to say so 
himself," was Mary's calm rejoinder; and it is certain 
that Moray never ventured to make such a claim. 

The queen's first step was to write an indignant letter 
to Kirkaldy of Grange, reproaching him with the un- 
worthy part he had played in persuading her to confide in 
the promises of the faithless traitors, by whom she had 



3i6 Mary Stuart. 

been so shamefully deceived. He replied that he had 
reproached the lords with the same, whereupon they had 
shown him a note sent by her to the Earl of Bothwell, 
promising never to forget or abandon him, adding: "And 
if it were written by your majesty, which I can scarcely 
believe, it closes my mouth." Such a letter was certainly 
never shown to him unless it was forged, and he knew 
this perfectly well. 

Lethington told Du Croc that when her majesty called 
to him in her agony from the window of the provost's 
house, it was only to complain of her separation from 
Bothwell, and that she had said, " My only desire is that 
he and I may be put on a ship together, and allowed to 
go wherever fortune may carry us." 

In communicating to the Queen-Mother of France what 
had passed between him and Lethington regarding her 
daughter-in-law, the ambassador dryly observes : " Yet 
the same Lethington at other times has told me that from 
the day after her nuptials she has never ceased from tears 
and lamentations, and that Bothwell would neither allow 
her to see any one nor any one to see her." 

The day after the confederate lords had sent the queen 
to Lochleven Castle, they seized all her plate, jewels, 
dresses, and costly furniture in Holyrood House, and 
sent the silver, including the font Elizabeth had presented 
for the baptism of the prince, to the mint, to be coined 
into money for the expenses of their military forces. 
Glencairn entered the chapel royal with his servants, 
broke down the altars, and demolished the carving, orna- 
ments, and pictures, some of Vvhich were of great beauty 
and value. The queen's French attendants were driven 
out in a destitute condition, and they were obliged to 
apply to Du Croc for food. He provided for them by 
breaking open a coffer, containing four thousand crowns, 



1567- Mary Stuart. 317 

which the queen had confided to him for her own use, 
also several massive silver vessels, which he sold, and, 
with the proceeds, hired a ship and sent them back to 
their own country. 

It is a notorious fact that although the conspirators had 
declared their intention to punish Bothwell for the mur- 
der of Darnley, they made no attempt to capture him. 
Their real object was to deprive the queen of her throne 
and her liberty, and they knew perfectly well that, if 
brought to trial, Bothwell's testimony would be damaging 
to themselves. So a whole month from the date of 
Mary's surrender was allowed to pass before a reward 
of a thousand crowns was publicly offered for his arrest. 

Meanwhile Bothwell remained unmolested at Dunbar, 
within twenty miles of the metropolis, where he held a 
council to consider means for the deliverance of the royal 
prisoner, which was attended by twelve earls, eighteen 
lords, and a number of nominal bishops and abbots. No 
effectual means could be adopted, however, for the uni- 
versal disgust which his conduct had created prevented 
her loyal friends from co-operating with him. These 
formed themselves into a separate party for the queen, 
independently of any connection with Bothwell ; but, thus 
divided, they were not strong enough to do anything but 
negotiate and protest, and await the meeting of a free 
Parliament. 

Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was now sent to Scotland 
as ambassador from the English sovereign, under the pre- 
text of comforting Mary, and trying to effect her release ; 
but his real object was to deprive her of the chance of 
ever contesting the crown of England with Elizabeth, 
into whose hands he was to endeavor to get the infant 
prince, and thus reduce Scotland into an English pro- 
vince. 



3i8 Mary Stuart. 

The conspirators now resorted to a bold step, that of per- 
suading^ or forcing the queen to abdicate in favor of her 
infant son. Everything was done to terrify her ; she was 
made to believe that her life was threatened ; she was 
menaced with being removed to the top of the tower in 
Lochleven Castle, and left there in utter solitude to starve 
to death ; but the favorite threat was that there was a plot 
for stifling her between two mattresses, and then suspend- 
ing her from one of the bedposts as if she had committed 
suicide. 

A special convention of the nobles and gentlemen of 
the rebel party was held to prepare the grand stroke 
against the captive queen, and Lord Lindsay was charged 
to go with Sir Robert Melville to Lochleven, to inform her 
that, in consequence of the charges against her, she was 
required to consent, under her hand and seal, that her son 
might be crowned their king and sovereign, and that then 
they would endeavor to save both her life and honor, 
which otherwise stood in great danger. 

The conspirators had provided three deeds which the 
queen was to be forced into signing. The first contained 
a declaration, as if written by herself, that being in infirm 
health, and worn out with the cares of government, she 
had made up her mind voluntarily to resign her crown 
and office to her dearest son James, Prince of Scotland. 
In the second, her trusty brother James, Earl of Moray, 
was constituted regent for the prince, her son, during 
the minority of the royal infant. The third appointed a 
council of regency, consisting of Morton and the other 
lords of the secret council, to carry on the government 
until Moray's return. Knowing that it would not be easy 
to induce the queen to sign such documents, Melville, 
whom she had trusted implicitly ever since her return 
from France, was employed to endeavor to coax her into 




MARY ABOUT TO SIGN HER RESIGNATION AT LOCHLEVEN. 



1567- ]\Iary Stuart. 321 

it. Having obtained a private interview, he deceitfully 
entreated her to sign certain deeds that would be pre- 
sented to her by Lindsay, as the only means of preserv- 
ing her life, which he assured her was in imminent danger. 

Finding that she was impatient of such advice, he pro- 
duced a letter from the English ambassador Throckmor- 
ton, out of the scabbard of his sword, telling her that he 
had stuck it in there, at peril of his life, in order to bring 
it to her. Of course this was not true, for the letter had 
been prepared by the very persons from whom Melville 
pretended to have hidden it, and revealed to her, in the 
strictest confidence, that it was the sisterly advice of the 
Queen of England that she should not irritate those who 
had her in their power by refusing the only concession 
that would save her life ; and observing that nothing done 
under her present circumstances could be of any force 
when she regained her freedom. However, Mary reso- 
lutely refused to sign the deeds, declaring, with truly royal 
courage, that she would not make herself a party to the 
treason of her own subjects ; she added that she knew it 
to be only the ambitious few who made such requests of 
her, and not by any means the majority of her people. 

When Lord Lindsay heard of Melville's failure, he took 
the matter in his own hands, and, like the brutal bully he 
was, burst rudely into the queen's presence, flung the 
deeds violently upon the table before her, and told her to 
sign at once, or worse would befall her.. "What!" ex- 
claimed she, " shall I set my hand to a deliberate false- 
hood, and, to satisfy the ambition of my nobles, relinquish 
the office God has given me, to my son, an infant little 
more than a year old, incapable of governing the realm, 
that my brother Moray may reign in his name ? " She 
was proceeding to explain how unreasonable it was to re- 
quire such a thing of her, but the ruffian interrupted her 



322 Mary Stuart. 

with a scornful laugh ; then scowling ferociously, he swore 
a horrid oath, and added : " If you do not sign those instru- 
ments, I will do it with your heart's blood, and cast your 
body into the lake to feed the fishes." Well did the poor 
queen know that Lindsay was capable of what he threat- 
ened, for she had seen the part he took in the butchery of 
her unfortunate secretary. She had pardoned him for 
that act ; he owed his life and his forfeited lands to her, 
and thus he requited the grace which she had in an evil 
hour for herself accorded him. Her heart was too full 
to allow her to say more. " I am not yet five-and-twenty," 
she pathetically remarked, but she could say no more, for 
sobs interrupted her, and she wept hysterically. Sir 
Robert Melville, affecting to be very much concerned, 
earnestly whispered into her ear, " Save your life, madam, 
by signing the paper ; it will not be valid, because it is 
extorted from you by force." 

Still Mary refused, and her tears continued to flow, until 
Lindsay, in a fury, swore that, having begun the matter, 
he would finish it then and there, and forced the pen into 
her hand, which he held so violently as to leave the im- 
print of his mail-clad fingers. In pain and terror, the 
poor queen was thus forced to affix her signature, though 
she did so without once glancing at the papers. 

George Douglas, the youngest son of the evil lady of 
Lochleven, who was present, indignantly remonstrated 
with the savage Lindsay, and, though hitherto employed 
as one of Mary's jailers, became, from that moment, her 
most devoted friend and champion. A violent fever was 
the consequence of the captive's sufferings, which con- 
fined her to her bed for several weeks. 

Lindsay hastened to Edinburgh with the deeds, which he 
exultingly presented to his confederates. But they bore 
no seal, and this was not so easy to obtain, because the 



1567' Mary Stuart. 323 

privy seal was in the hands of an honest gentleman of the 
royal family of Sinclair. Determined to stop at nothing, 
Lindsay next presented the deeds, to which he had added 
a forged warrant, signed by her majesty, ordering Thomas 
Sinclair to affix the seal. Faithful to the trust that had 
been reposed in him, Sinclair replied : " As long as the 
queen's majesty is in ward, I will seal no letters that seem 
so extraordinary." But with the aid of half a dozen armed 
men, Lindsay dragged the seal from the honest officer, 
placed it in his hand and compelled him, by brute force, 
to affix it as he desired. That very day Throckmorton, 
the English ambassador, was notified of the queen's abdi- 
cation, and requested to proceed to Stirling, to assist at 
the inauguration of her son, as Elizabeth's representative. 
But, perceiving the act was not the wish of the nation, but 
merely an enterprise of a small section of the nobility, 
Throckmorton prudently remained away. In his letters 
to Cecil and Leicester, written the same day, he says : 
" It is to be feared that this tragedy will end in the 
queen's person, after this coronation, as it did begin in 
the person of David Riccio and the queen's husband." 
As Throckmorton was behind the scenes, he knew that 
the two assassinations were the work of the same hands, 
and that their ultimate object was the destruction of Mary 
Stuart. His letter, it must be remembered, was confiden- 
tial, and addressed to men who had guilty knowledge of 
ever}' plot in this connection. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

[A.D. 1567.] As the majority of the nobles, as well as 
the people, were loyal to their queen, the lords of the 
secret council found it necessary to make believe that 
what they were doing was in accordance with the royal 
will, before they could obtain even passive consent to the 
coronation of the prince. Therefore Lindsay and Ruth- 
ven, the ruffians who had resorted to personal intimida- 
tion, stood forth in Stirling church, and unblushingly 
swore, in the presence of God and the Congregation, that 
the queen, their sovereign, resigned willingly and without 
compulsion her royal estate and dignity to the prince, her 
son, and the government of her realm to the several per- 
sons named in her commission of regency. 

Then the coronation ceremony began, the Earl of Mor- 
ton acting as sponsor for the little prince, and the Earl of 
Athol placing the crown upon his head, while an armed 
force guarded every approach to the castle. Knox 
preached the sermon, a handful of nobles paid their 
homage, the titles were proclaimed of the high and mighty 
prince, James VI., and the Earl of Mar carried him back 
to his nursery. After partaking of the banquet in honor 
of the occasion, the king-makers deputed Lord Lindsay 
to resume his ungracious office as jailer to their deposed 
sovereign, at Lochleven, with instructions to guard her 
more strictly than before. 

Queen Mary's party was by no means e.xtinct ; this was 
proved by a convention of nobles at Hamilton to devise 

324 



1567. Mary Stuart. 325 

means for obtaining her liberty and restoration to her 
throne. The self-appointed council of regency sent Sir 
James Melville to inform them that the queen had abdi- 
cated in favor of her son. The younger nobles cried out : 
" We know the queen too well to believe that she would 
voluntarily resign her crown. If she have really done so, 
she must have been put in fear of her life, for never would 
she have given it up of her own free will." Archbishop 
Hamilton tried to make a diplomatic reply to Melville's 
announcement, but the younger men interrupted. " Tell 
the lords of secret council," they exclaimed, "to let us see 
our queen in their presence, that we may learn from her 
own lips whether it be really her pleasure to resign her 
crown to her son, for if she avow it to be so, and that the 
commissions of regency are her own act and deed, then 
will we promise to acknowledge the prince as our king, 
and the persons named in those documents as regents." 
But this was not permitted, and Mary's loyal friends were 
afraid to make further demonstrations in her behalf, be- 
cause they were told that if they attempted to take up 
arms for her deliverance, her head should be sent to them 
in reply. 

Ten days after the coronation of the infant king, Moray 
arrived at Berwick. A split had already taken place 
among the secret council, who were divided into two 
parties, one headed by Morton, the other by Athol, and 
nothing but the danger they had incurred by their treat- 
ment of the queen prevented open hostilities between 
them. By common consent, they united in deputing Sir 
James Melville to meet Moray, and inform him of his 
appointment as sole regent. At the same time, the 
deputy was charged with confidential messages prescrib- 
ing the course of conduct to be adopted towards his royal 
sister. 



326 Mary Stuart. 

Moray entered Edinburgh on the nth of August in 
triumph, riding between the ambassador from France and 
the resident EngUsh ambassador, both having paid liim 
the compliment of going along the road to meet him, as 
though he were a reigning sovereign. Three days later, 
after considerable debate as to whether he should visit the 
queen or no, the secret council decided in favor of it, 
providing they might accompany him. However, he man- 
aged to rid himself of some of them, and proceeded that 
same afternoon to Lochleven with Athol and Morton. 
Mary received them with a passionate burst of weeping, 
and, drawing Moray aside, spoke long and earnestly with 
him. No one could hear what was said, but Moray was 
so reserved that his sister could not make out whether or 
no he intended to act a friendly part. When supper was 
over, she expressed a desire to speak with him entirely 
alone ; every one retired, and the two remained in private 
conference until after midnight. 

Six months had Mary languished in prison before the 
regent ventured to convene a Parliament in the name of 
her son. He had a larger military force than any sover- 
eign had ever presumed to introduce into Edinburgh as a 
standing army ; he had provided himself with plenty of 
money; he had made himself master of the most impor- 
tant places in the realm ; and, by bribes and promises, he 
had so strengthened his party that he was able to carry 
any point he chose. Thus, when some of the peers of 
Parliament demanded that the queen be brought before 
them in person, that she might speak freely in her own be- 
half, and that a prope'r inquir}^ might be made into the 
crimes of which she was accused, Moray, with the aid of 
his supporters, had no difficulty in preventing such a pro- 
ceeding. 

Mary had hoped for redress from Parliament ; it was 




JAMES I. 



^S^7' Mary Stuart. 329 

when she despaired of this that she wrote the following 
touching appeal to her royal mother-in-law of France : — 

" Madame, — I write to you at the same time as to the 
king, your son, and by the same bearer, to beseech you 
both to have pity upon me. I am now fully convinced 
that it is by force alone I can be delivered. If you send 
never so few troops to countenance the matter, I am cer- 
tain great numbers of my subjects will rise to join them ; 
but without that, they are overawed by the force of the 
rebels, and dare attempt nothing of themselves. The 
miseries I endure are more than I once believed it was in 
the power of a human being to sustain and live. Give 
credit to this messenger, who can tell you all. I have no 
opportunity to write, but while my jailers are at dinner. 
Have compassion, I conjure you, on my wretched condi- 
tion, and may God pour on you all the blessings you can 
desire. Your ever dutiful, though most wretched and 
afflicted daughter, M. R." 

It was Mary's faithful servant, John Beton, who hovered 
near Lochleven in disguise, and conveyed this and other 
letters to and from the court of France. 

Bothwell's servants, who had been caught and brought 
back to Edinburgh, were all tried and executed on the 
same day, and each protested, in the presence of all the 
people who witnessed his punishment, that the queen was 
entirely innocent of any knowledge whatsoever of Darn- 
ley's murder, and that Moray and Morton were the sole 
contrivers, movers, and counsellors of Bothwell in the 
commission of the deed. 

A poet, who wrote under the nom de plume of " Tom 
Truth," commemorated the circumstance in the following 
rhymes, which were deemed of sufficient importance at 



330 Mary Stuart. 

the time to be suppressed as being too much in favor 
of the queen : — 

For they, to seem more innocent of this most heinous deed, 
Did forthwith catch four murderers, and put to death with speed; 
As Hepburn, Dalgleish, Powry, too — John Hay made up the mess — 
Which four, when they were put to death, the treason did confess, 
And said that Moray — Morton, too — with others of that rout, 
Were guilty of that murder vile, though now they look so stout. 
Yet some perchance may think that I speak for affection here ; 
Though I would so, three thousand can herein true witness bear. 
Who present were as well as I at the execution time. 
And heard how these, in conscience prickt, confessed who did the 
crime. 

[A. D. 1568.] The regent's brother, George Douglas, 
commonly called Prettie Geordie, who was employed as 
one of the queen's jailers, became deeply interested in 
her behalf, and opened communication between her and 
an association of loyal gentlemen who had pledged them- 
selves to break her chains. A variety of schemes were 
formed, but had to be abandoned as impracticable ; doubt- 
less as each was secretly laid before Mary, she and the 
faithful companions who shared her captivity during that 
long dismal winter were amused and cheered. But all 
their hopes were soon dashed to the ground, for George 
Douglas' projects were betrayed, and he was expelled 
from the castle in disgrace, and forbidden ever to set foot 
on the island again. 

On being informed of what was going on, Moray has- 
tened to Lochleven to devise means for keeping the pris- 
oner in greater security. His meeting with her was 
stormy ; she knew that her life was in his hands, yet she 
dared to overwhelm him with reproaches. For once he 
answered honestly, by saying that he and the other lords 
could do no less than put her into captivity for their own 
safety. These words explain everything. By forging let- 



1568. Marj> Stuart. 331 

ters in her name, and cruelly misrepresenting her every 
action and motive, they had gone so far that they dared 
not draw back, and to avert their own ruin they were 
compelled to use every means to complete hers. 

In Sir William Drury's report to Cecil of this interview, 
furnished by Moray, occurs the following passage : " From 
other matters she began to speak about marriage, praying 
that she might have a husband, and naming George 
Douglas as the one she would prefer ; on which the earl 
replied that he was an over-mean marriage for her grace, 
and that he, with the rest of her nobility, would take ad- 
vice thereon." The absurdity of such a tale is apparent, 
for even had George Douglas won the affections of the 
queen, Moray was certainly the last person she would 
have selected for her confidant ; nor is it likely that she 
passed so quickly from indignant reproaches of his treason 
and perfidy as to beseech him to give her a husband, and, 
of all others, one who had just incurred his wrath. 

Notwithstanding the redoubled restraints to which Mary 
was now subjected, she nearly succeeded in making her 
escape a day or two after Moray's visit. The Lady of 
Lochleven employed a laundress, who came across the 
water from the adjacent village of Kinross, to fetch and 
carry the linen belonging to her majesty and her ladies. 
This laundress, being a true-hearted Scotch woman, and a 
kind, courageous one, consented to aid the queen in flee- 
ing from prison, the arrangements being made with George 
Douglas, who, though expelled from the castle, remained 
concealed in the house of a friend at Kinross. Until the 
plans were perfected Mary pretended to be ill, and passed 
her mornings in bed, apparently indifferent to everything 
in life. 

At last, on the 25th of March, the laundress came as 
usual and went to the queen's room to deliver the clothes 



00-^ 



Mary StuaTt. 



she had washed, and to tie up and carry away another 
bundle. Then Mary slipped out of bed, and, disguising 
herself in the faithful creature's humble garments, drew a 
muffler over her face, and, taking the soiled clothes in her 
arms, passed out of the castle unsuspected, and, stepping 
into the boat, took her seat. But Mary Stuart was not 
born to support the character of a washerwoman with suc- 
cess ; and when midway between the fortress and the 
shore one of the rowers, struck by the incongruity of her 
bearing with her coarse array, said jokingly to his assist- 
ant, " Come, let us see what manner of dame this is," and 
attempted to snatch off her muffler. Impulsively Mary 
put up her hands to defend herself from his rudeness ; 
their whiteness and delicacy betrayed the fact that she 
was no workwoman. Assuming the tone and gesture of 
command, the poor queen ordered the men to row her to 
shore, and threatened to punish them if they refused. 
They recognized her at once, and might have consented 
to save her had they been entrusted with the secret, or 
had she condescended to appeal to their sympathies, 
instead of making a threat which she had no power to put 
in force ; but, as it was, they were not willing to risk their 
lives for her, and so tacked about and landed her again 
on the island, promising, however, as a great favor, not to 
betray her to the lord of the castle. 

Five days after this failure, the queen wrote to her 
mother-in-law, in France, to acknowledge certain letters 
of comfort she had received, and added : " It is with 
extreme difficulty that I have been able to send a faithful 
servant to explain to you the extent of my misery, and to 
beseech you to have compassion on me, inasmuch as Lord 
Moray has caused me to be told, underhand, that the king, 
your son, is going to make peace with his subjects, and 
one of the conditions of the treaty is that he shall not 



1568. Alary Stuart. 335 

give me any help. This information is said to come from 
your servants who are in correspondence with Prince de 
Conde' and the admiral, and have been informed that they 
would not come to an agreement on any other terms. 
This I cannot believe, for, next to God, I place my whole 
reliance on the king and you, as the bearer of this can tell 
you. I dare not write more, save to entreat God to have 
you in his holy care." 

Mary's information was correct ; for, although the king, 
who loved her very much, would have been delighted to 
assist her, he was but a cipher in the hands of his mother, 
Catherine de Medicis ; she ruled his court and cabinet. 
She had no affection for Mary ; and she had set her heart 
on raising her favorite son, Henry, to the throne of Eng- 
land, by marrying him to Queen Elizabeth. 

Poor Mary was so despondent, when she found that 
there was no hope of help from France, that once, when 
looking through the bars of her window at the lake, it 
suddenly occurred to her that by one plunge into its placid 
waters she might terminate her captivity, and end all her 
woes. This weakness lasted but for a moment ; the next 
she was on her knees asking God to pardon the sinful 
thought, and to grant her strength to endure her trials. 

Human aid was nearer at hand than the forlorn captive 
imagined ; and it came through a lad of sixteen, named 
Willie Douglas, who acted in the capacity of page to the 
Lady of Lochleven. As he had been found, when an 
infant, at the castle gate, he was called " the lad Willie," 
" Orphan Willie," " Little Willie," or " Foundling Willie." 
His heart had often been touched at the distress of the 
imprisoned queen ; and one day, seeing her more than 
usually sad, he took the liberty of whispering to her: 
" Madam, if your majesty will venture to attempt your 
escape, I can tell you of the means of doing it. We have 



33^ Marj/ Stuart. 

below a postern gate, by which we sometimes go out in 
one of the boats on the lake. I will bring you the key 
when I can get the boat ready, and I will liberate you, and 
go with you from the fury of my father." In astonish- 
ment, the queen replied : " My little friend, this is very 
good of you ; but see you tell no one, or we shall be 
ruined. And if you succeed in rendering me this service, 
I will make you great and happy for the rest of your life." 
Then, with a piece of charcoal, she wrote a few words in 
cipher on her handkerchief, which she told Willie to carry 
to Lord Seton. This was her first trial of his sagacity and 
faith. The handkerchief was quickly conveyed to Kin- 
ross, and placed in the hands of George Douglas, who lost 
no time in carrying it to Lord Seton at his Castle of West 
Niddry, on the other side of the Forth. Seton interpreted 
the cipher correctly, and transported a company of sixty 
armed horsemen across the water, and concealed them in 
a glen of the western Lomonds, to await Mary's move- 
ments. Several days elapsed -before Willie was able to 
perfect his arrangements. 

At last, on Sunday, the 2d of May, a signal i^assed from 
Willie and John Beton to George Douglas that the queen's 
escape would be effected that evening. Douglas, in 1ms 
turn, notified Lord Seton, who, besides the sixty horsemen 
in the mountain valley, had concealed forty more behind a 
hill a little in the rear, while ten, in the costume of way- 
farers, were waiting at Kinross with fleet horses, bridled 
and saddled. One of these advanced to the very margin 
of the lake, where, crouching himself down at full length, 
he kept his eyes fixed on the castle, to watch for the boat 
which was to contain the queen. 

At half after seven the guards, who kept watch at the 
gates night and day, were in the habit of quitting their 
post for half an hour to sup with the family in the great 



iS68. Mary Stuart. 337 

hall, the gates being carefully locked, and the keys placed 
beside the castellan, Sir William Douglas, on the table 
where he and his mother sat in state. While waiting on 
them, Willie contrived to drop a napkin over the five large 
keys, attached to an iron chain, and, adroitly enveloping 
them in the folds of the cloth, to prevent their jingling, he 
carried them off, hastened to the queen's tower, and has- 
tily unlocked the doors leading to her apartments. As 
Mary had received notice of the projected enterprise, 
she was ready to start the moment Willie appeared. She 
was attired in Mary Seton's clothes ; and that maid of 
honor, in the queen's robes, remained to personate her 
royal mistress, and to bear the first brunt of Lady Doug- 
las' anger. Queen Mary took with her the youngest com- 
panion of her captivity, a little girl ten years of age, whom 
she tenderly led by the hand. Willie, having carefully 
locked the gates behind him to prevent immediate pursuit, 
hurriedly jumped into the boat with the queen and her little 
companion, and pushed off for the opposite shore, rowing 
with all his might. Jane Kennedy, who was to have gone 
with the queen, not being quick enough to reach the 
castle gate before it was locked, jumped from the window 
into the water, and, striking out boldly, swam after the 
boat, into which she was received in her dripping garments. 
Midway between the island and the shore. Queen Mary 
stood up, and waved her veil, which was white, with a red 
and gold border and red tassels. The recumbent watcher 
saw the signal, and repeated it to his companions in the 
village ; these instantly communicated it to those on the 
hillside, who galloped down to the lake shore in time to 
witness the landing of her majesty. The greeting was 
joyous, as she sprang from the boat, and received the 
homage of the true-hearted Scots who were endangering 
their lives for her deliverance. 



338 Mary Stuart. 

After nearly fourteen months of the most frightful con- 
straint and misery, Mary Stuart was free once more. She 
was quickly in the saddle, riding a race for life and liberty, 
and, passing by the hostile neighborhood of Sir William 
Kirkaldy, of Grange, gained the coast in safety. As it 
was deemed imprudent to perform more of the perilous 
journey by land, the party embarked in open fisher-boats, 
five miles from Lochleven, in a secluded haven among the 
rocks. They landed just above the small tov/n of South 
Queensferry. The queen was met and welcomed by Lord 
Claud Hamilton, son of the Due de Chatelherault, first 
prince of the blood of Scotland, at the head of fifty armed 
cavaliers and a party of gentlemen of the neighborhood, 
eager to renew their homage. Attended by this gathering, 
Mary was conducted by Lord Seton to West Niddry, where 
she halted for the night. 

The next day she was conducted to Hamilton Castle, 
where, in the presence of a large party of nobles and gen- 
tlemen, she solemnly revoked her abdication, declaring 
that her signature had been forced from her at Lochleven 
Castle, to which George Douglas and Sir Robert Melville 
bore testimony. Her next thought was for France, and 
to that court she despatched John Beton with news of her 
escape, and to ask their majesties for a thousand soldiers 
for immediate use, observing, at the same time, that, for 
the recovery of Edinburgh and the other strongholds in 
possession of the rebels, more would be required. 

The majority of the peers of Scotland rallied around 
the queen, and formed themselves into a Parliament, 
declaring that, her abdication having been extorted from 
her by fear, of which her majesty's oath was sufficient 
proof, was null and void, and that all acts passed by the 
pretended Parliament, that had been convened without 
her authority, were invalid. The next day Mary sent a 



1568. Mary Stuart. 339 

copy of her revocation to Moray and his confederates, 
and required them to restore her peacefully to her royal 
dignity and estate, promising, if they complied, to forgive 
all they had done against her person and honor. Moray 
affected to enter into an amicable negotiation, but took 
care to defend the power he had acquired. He had in 
his possession all the revenues of the crown, the queen's 
plate and jewels, as well as the royal arsenals at Edin- 
burgh, Stirling, and Dunbar, and the pulpits were at his 
command besides. 

The English authorities sorely lamented Mary's escape 
from Lochleven, and Throckmorton wrote to Moray : " I 
can assure you that the queen's escape has much grieved 
your friends, who are no less astonished that there was 
neglect in a matter of such importance." 

Mary had brought with her from France a rare and 
costly pearl necklace, which the regent sent secretly to 
England to be sold only a few days before she left 
prison. As these were considered the most magnificent 
pearls in Europe, they were first offered to Queen Eliza- 
beth, who, to her shame be it said, purchased them at half 
their value. 

An unarmed, undisciplined muster thronged by thou- 
sands to the royal standard, but Mary had no money to 
equip them. The Earl of Argyll fiercely claimed com- 
mand of the army, although he had been allied with 
Moray against her, and a violent rain storm prevented the 
loyal chivalry of the northern counties from coming up in 
time to decide the contest in her favor. The odds were 
against her, and, as usual, she was betrayed. 

A spy who had joined her troops at Hamilton informed 
Moray of her plan to surround the rebel army, and he 
consolidated his whole force for one bold stroke. Argyll 
showed neither courage nor military skill, and it was gen- 



340 Mary Stuart. 

erally believed that he had a secret understanding with his 
brother-in-law, Moray. Certain it is that he gave no 
orders, and the queen's army fell into such confusion that 
a total defeat was the result. 

Mary watched the battle from an eminence, while an 
equerry held her horse close by, ready for her to mount if 
the fortunes of the day went against her. And when the 
moment came for her to escape, and she expressed her 
determination to go to Dumbarton, distinctly visible in 
the distance, the gentlemen around her said that, in con- 
sequence of the position occupied by the rebel force, it 
would be impossible for her to get there. Holding up 
her crucifix, she exclaimed, " By the cross in this hand, I 
will be at Dumbarton to-night in spite of yon traitors ! " 
Alas for her ! The broad waters of the Clyde rolled 
between her and that last stronghold of Scottish loyalty, 
which she was never destined to reach. Being well 
acquainted with the ground, she made an effort to cross 
the stream higher up ; but as the narrow lane through 
which she might have made a short cut to the river side 
ran through the Earl of Lennox's estate, that was hostile 
land. Two men who were mowing in the field came out and 
threatened her and Lord Herries, who rode by her, with 
their scythes. Terrified at the sight of such weapons, the 
queen turned her horse's head, and fled in an opposite 
direction with her party. Lord Herries guided her into 
the wild district of Galloway, where the people still clung 
to the church of Rome, and would be ready to protect 
her. The party dashed at full speed through mountain 
defiles, and crossed wild moors, dangerous bogs, and 
rushing streams, to avoid the rebel parties who were out 
in every direction to recapture the queen. It was also 
necessary to take a circuitous route, in order to avoid the 
various castles of the enemy, and at last, after two days 



1568. Mary Stuart. 341 

and nights of travel, with only occasional short intervals 
of rest, Terregles, near Dumfries, was reached, on the 
15th of May. Here Mary adopted her fatal resolution to 
seek refuge in England, and throw herself on the protec- 
tion of her royal kinswoman. Queen Elizabeth. Lord 
Harries endeavored to dissuade her, but in vain. 

On hearing of the arrival of Archbishop Hamilton and 
other fugitives of her party at Dundrennan Abbey, the 
queen hastened thither to inquire into the fate of her 
other friends. There she was told that fifty-seven gen- 
tlemen of the name of Hamilton, besides many of her 
bravest adherents, were slain, and the rest had dispersed ; 
that her faithful and devoted servant. Lord Seton, who 
had never failed her in time of need, was dangerously 
wounded and a prisoner, and that many others had 
shared the same fate. She was overwhelmed with grief 
and despondency. 

Queen Mary sat for the last time in council within the 
walls of Dundrennan Abbey, with the faithful friends who 
had escorted her from the battle-field. These, with many 
other loyal gentlemen, met to deliberate on what plan 
she ought to pursue in the melancholy circumstances. 
Opinions of course varied. Lord Herries advised her 
majesty to remain where she was, engaging to defend her 
for at least forty days from any hostile attempts of the 
rebel party. Others suggested that it would be better for 
her to remove to one of the strong fortresses in the neigh- 
borhood, which would offer better means of holding out 
till the loyal portion of her subjects could rally for her 
deliverance ; while the rest urged her to retire to France. 

Mary refused to adopt any of these counsels. She 
said : " It is impossible for me to remain safely in any 
part of my realm, for I do not know whom to trust." 
Considering the dangers that all present were incurring by 



342 Mary Stuart. 

their adherence to her cause, this remark was ungrateful 
and unreasonable ; but the agonizing excitement of the 
past fortnight, the overthrow of all her hopes, her exces- 
sive sorrow and fatigue, had so worn upon the poor queen's 
mind as to unfit her for seeing things in their proper light. 
She could not listen to reason, and she went on to say : 
" As for retiring into France, I will never go as a fugitive, 
without a retinue, to a country where I once wore the 
crown matrimonial with so much e'clat." In short, she 
had formed her resolution before she asked advice, and it 
was not easy to shake her. She could see the English 
mountains across the bay, and a strange, irresistible in- 
fatuation came over her, impelling her to throw herself 
upon the friendship of Queen Elizabeth. She wanted to 
explain, by v/ord of mouth, the ill treatment to which she, 
a crowned and anointed sovereign, descended from the 
same royal stock as herself, had been subjected by an in- 
solent party ; and to demonstrate the expediency of mak- 
ing common cause with her for the punishment of her 
rebellious subjects. 

Mary Stuart's reasoning faculties must have been 
strangely blunted, or she would have known that she 
could not commit a greater folly than by confiding herself 
to the honor of a sovereign who had aided in fomenting 
all the plots and insurrections that had distracted her 
realm. And she ought to have been warned by the fate 
of certain of her ancestors, especially James I., who, on 
venturing into England in time of peace, had been 
treacherously captured, and kejot in prison for many years. 

Lords Herries and Fleming, finding that no argument 
could induce their unfortunate sovereign to abandon her 
rash purpose, determined to share her peril. She was 
also accompanied by Lord and Lady Livingstone, Lord 
Boyd, George Douglas, Willie Douglas, and other devoted 



1568. Mary Stuart. 343 

followers, amounting, in all, to sixteen. Not one of the 
party had made the slightest preparation for the voyage, 
and the only vessel that could be obtained for their use 
was a common fishing-boat. The navigation of the 
Scottish coast is so difficult and dangejous that the most 
experienced mariners will not attempt it unless both wind 
and tide be favorable ; it often happens that a sudden 
squall overtakes a boat, and tosses it about until it is 
driven out of its course, and unable to make a port for 
several days. Mary knew this perfectly well, but she was 
rash and obstinate, and, having made up her mind to go 
to England, no amount of argument could dissuade her. 

The tide served on this bright May morning, and the 
queen, with her little party of sixteen, embarked on the 
beautiful rivulet which flows past Abbey Burn-foot to 
Solway Firth. The Archbishop of St. Andrew's, with sev- 
eral other churchmen and gentlemen, followed his sovereign 
to this spot, with earnest entreaties for her to remain 
where she might either be defended, or concealed until 
her friends had time to rally ; and when he saw her actu- 
ally step into the frail bark in which she was about to 
undertake a perilous voyage, to encounter still greater 
dangers if she succeeded in reaching the English shore, 
he rushed into the water, up to his waist, and, grasping the 
boat with both hands, conjured her not to trust to the pre- 
tended friendship of the Queen of England. 

Unfortunately Mary had had so much cause to distrust 
this prelate, that she could not rely on his sincerity now, 
even when he seemed ready to risk his life for her sake. 
Besides, in the bitterness of her heart, she was anxious to 
withdraw from a country where she had been insulted, 
calumniated, and betrayed. . Of course, she ought to have 
set aside her feelings as a woman, and remembered that 
as a sovereign it would be better policy for her to remain ; 



344 Mary Stuart. 

but she flattered herself that, once out of the realm, her 
value would be perceived, and she would be implored by 
all parties to return, as the only means of settling quarrels 
between the contending parties, and restoring public 
tranquillity. Her heart misgave her when she was fairly 
out to sea, and she said she would go to France, The 
boatmen made an attempt to change their course, but 
wind and tide were contrary, and carried the little vessel 
rapidly across Solway Firth into the harbor of Working- 
ton, a small seafaring town on the coast of Cumberland. 
The voyage had been performed in four hours. It was 
Sunday evening, and an unusual number of people, who 
were enjoying the holiday, assembled to see the Scotch 
boat come in, a lively curiosity being aroused as to who 
the passengers might be. The moment Mary Stuart 
stepped ashore, she was recognized from her resemblance 
to her pictures and her coins, as well as by her majestic 
stature and lofty bearing. She was welcomed with en- 
thusiastic cheers and demonstrations of affection and re- 
spect. 

Sir Henry Curwen received the queen and her party, 
and conducted them to his own home, Workington Hall, 
where his wife and mother supplied the ladies with a 
change of linen, and such other articles of clothing as 
could be rendered available. During her brief sojourn at 
this place, Mary wrote to Queen Elizabeth, explaining at 
length the treatment she had received from the conspira- 
tors, who had reduced her to the dire necessity of throw- 
ing herself on her royal kinswoman's protection. The 
letter concludes with the following touching appeal : — 

" I entreat you to send for me as soon as possible for I 
am in a pitiable condition not only for a queen, but even 
for a gentlewoman, having nothing in the world but the 



1568. Mary Stuart. 345 

clothes in which I escaped, riding sixty miles the first day, 
and not daring to travel afterwards except by night, as I 
hope to be able to show you, if it please you to have com- 
passion on my great misfortunes, and permit me to come 
and bewail them with you. Not to weary you, I will now 
pray God to give you health and a long and happy life, 
and to myself, patience and that consolation I await from 
you to whom I present my humble commendations. Your 
very affectionate and faithful good sister and cousin and 
escaped prisoner, Marie R." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

[A.D. 1568.] The news of Queen Mary's arrival at 
Workington spread rapidly, and the Earl of Northumber- 
land, who claimed pre-eminence in that district, in order 
to make a show of respect, sent a band of gentlemen to 
wait on her majesty as a guard of honor, with strict orders 
to prevent her leaving the country until Queen Elizabeth's 
pleasure concerning her should be ascertained. At the 
same time he informed the council at York, who sent a 
warrant to the Cumberland authorities to use the Scottish 
Queen and her company honorably, but to see that not 
one of them escaped. 

It was now impossible for her to proceed to France, as 
she might have done, with Sir Henry Curwen's friendly 
assistance, and on the morning of May 17, she made a 
journey of six miles on horseback to Cockermouth, every 
man, woman, and child in the place coming out to wel- 
come her. She was lodged, with her train, at the mansion 
of a wealthy merchant, named Henry Fletcher, because 
the Earl of Northumberland was at that time absent from 
his castle. 

The next morning Mary held a little court for the re- 
ception of all the ladies of the district, many of whom 
afterwards attended her on her way to Carlisle. She had 
every reason to feel cheered and delighted with her first 
reception in a country which she hoped, some day, to call 
her own, for not only was she affectionately and respect- 
fully welcomed by the English ladies of the northern 

346 



1568- Mary Stuart. 347 

counties, but all sorts of people flocked to see the woman 
who had excited their sympathy and their admiration, and 
to follow in the procession to Carlisle. The queen was 
lodged at the castle, and Lowther, who guarded the build- 
ing with a band of soldiers, at once informed Cecil that 
he had her in custody, according to the instructions he 
had received. 

Mary had the comfort of being joined by many of her 
faithful Scotch servants, both ladies and gentlemen, who 
hastened to her as soon as they heard of her safe arrival 
at Carlisle, and the English gentry daily went to pay their 
court to her. 

With every outward demonstration of friendly feeling. 
Queen Elizabeth had ordered that Mary should be honor- 
ably entertained ; but her first care was to prevent her 
from seeking an asylum at the court of France, her next 
to deter that court from sending troops to Scotland to 
strengthen the loyal party. Lord Scroope and Sir Francis 
Knollys, both members of Elizabeth's privy council, were 
sent to wait on the queen at Carlisle, with instructions to 
treat her with great respect ; but they were secretly en- 
joined to keep a strict watch over her, to prevent her es- 
cape, and to report minutely everything she said and did. 
During her first interview with these gentlemen, she ex- 
pressed a hope that their sovereign would soon grant her 
an interview, and consent to assist in subduing her rebel- 
lious subjects, or allow her a passage through England to 
France to seek aid from other princes. They replied 
that the queen, their mistress, was sorry she could not do 
her the honor of admitting her to her presence, by reason 
of the serious charge of murder, whereof she was not 
yet cleared ; but they were sure her highness' affection 
towards her was very great ; and if she would depend 
upon her favor, without seeking to bring strangers into 



348 Mary Stuart. 

Scotland, which could not be suffered, then undoubtedly 
her highness would use all convenient means for her re- 
lief and comfort. 

Mary bore this insult as calmly as she could, and when 
the gentlemen presented the clothing which, in answer to 
her request, Elizabeth had sent, she merely turned away 
in silence. The articles had been selected from among 
the poorest and shabbiest of the royal wardrobe, and 
many of them were not fit to wear. Indeed, the bearers 
of them were so ashamed that they declared such things 
must have been sent by mistake, and were, no doubt, in- 
tended for one of the queen's maids. Improbable though 
the excuse was, Mary received it graciously and without 
comment. 

The next day she despatched Lord Herries with a letter 
to Queen Elizabeth, telling her of her ill treatment, and 
of her earnest desire for a personal interview, in order 
that she might have an opportunity to clear herself from 
the shameful charges that had been made against her by 
the traitors of her own realm. She asks for assistance, 
and says : " If, however, you cannot grant me this, I would, 
at least, be permitted, as freely as I came hither, to throw 
myself into your arms as my best friend, and seek succor 
from other princes, my friends and allies, as may be most 
convenient, without interrupting the old friendship which 
has been sworn between us two." She then points out 
the importance of immediate action, and begs for a speedy 
reply. In a postscript she adds : " Since writing the 
above, I have received information how the gentlemen 
calling themselves regents and governors have made 
proclamations for demolishing the houses, spoiling the 
goods, and seizing the persons of my loyal people, where- 
by you may judge how injurious is the loss of time to me. 
Therefore, I entreat you, if you have any regard for my 



1568. Maiy Stuart. 349 

weal and for my poor realm, to send with all speed to 
command these gentlemen to desist from persecuting my 
friends." 

Lord Scroope and Sir Francis Knollys comprehended 
the queen's chagrin in being deprived of the proper 
clothing, and used their efforts to obtain a supply from 
Moray, who sent, at last, five small cart-loads, and four 
horses laden with apparel. To be sure, these consisted of 
the poorest part of her wardrobe, and the materials for 
the dresses were all mourning ; but Mary had resumed 
her widow's weeds, which she wore to the end of her life. 
Had it not been for Elizabeth's intervention, she v/ould 
not have obtained even what she did, for the regent had 
disposed of the richest articles, and all the costly jewels 
and plate. When Sir Nicholas Elphinstone arrived at Car- 
lisle with letters and messages from the Earl of Moray to 
Scroope and Knollys, Queen Mary and her loyal follow- 
ers were excessively indignant. She demanded that he 
should be arrested, as her grievous enemy, and the seller 
of her jewels, little suspecting that her pretended friend, 
Queen Elizabeth, was rejoicing in the bargains she had 
got in the purchase of the stolen goods. Of course no 
notice was taken of what she said about Elphinstone, for 
he was under powerful protection. 

Mary was guilty of an act of imprudence in showing 
Scroope and Knollys some letters she had received from 
the Earls of Argyll, Huntley, and Cassilis, professing their 
devotion to her service ; for correspondence with her 
friends in Scotland was at once forbidden, and she was 
required to curtail the number of her Scotch followers in 
Carlisle. She replied indignantly, " Unless you have 
commission to treat me as a prisoner, I shall not submit 
to so unreasonable a requisition ; for if I dismiss the 
friends who have followed me to Carlisle, or cease to cor- 



350 Mary Stuart. 

respond with those who continue to support my authority 
in Scotland, then will my cause be deserted, and my loyal 
subjects endangered by the Queen of England appearing 
to take part with my rebels." 

Queen Elizabeth sent Middlemore to Carlisle with 
letters and messages to her spies ; and, hoping that he had 
brought some encouraging words for her, Mary gave him 
an audience as early as eight o'clock in the morning. 
The only answer she could glean from him to her eager 
inquiries was the same set speech always : that the foul 
fact of murdering her husband was alleged against her ; 
and till some proper trial of her innocence were made, 
Queen Elizabeth could not receive her. " Is Lord Her- 
ries a prisoner, then ; and have you brought me no letters 
from him .'' " anxiously inquired Mary. Middlemore re- 
plied that Lord Herries was not a prisoner, and that he 
had sent off all he had written on the previous Saturday. 
As a whole week had elapsed, Mary had reason to suspect 
that the letters had been suppressed, particularly as they 
had to pass through the hands of Randolph, who had 
played a treacherous part in every conspiracy against her. 
She was excessively indignant at the ambassador's offen- 
sive freedom of speech and manner ; and when he de- 
manded, in his sovereign's name, that she should prohibit 
her friends at Dumbarton from receiving succor from 
France, in case any should be sent to them, she answered, 
with more spirit than prudence, " In case your sovereign 
will not assure me of her assistance for the suppression of 
my evil and unruly subjects, I will go to the great Turk 
himself for help against them, and I neither can nor will 
forsake my faithful friends ; but if her majesty will resolve 
to give me aid, I will promise not to seek it from other 
princes." Then, after a passionate burst of weeping, she 
added, " But my hope is always that the queen, your mis- 



1568. Mary Stuart. 351 

tress, can do no less, not being willing to help my misery 
herself, than to suffer me to pass to other princes where I 
may find remedy." Middlemore told her that, since she 
had put herself into his sovereign's hands, and had made 
her the judge of her cause, her majesty had commanded 
him to assure her that she would take both her and her 
cause into her protection ; yea, and if, after trial made, the 
justice of her cause would bear it, she would compel her 
adversaries to do her right, and help to restore her to her 
honor, dignity, and government. He then showed her a 
copy of his instructions, in Queen Elizabeth's name, re- 
quiring the Earl of Moray not to molest Queen Mary's 
adherents any more, and added, "It is my sovereign's 
intention to remove your majesty from this place nearer to 
herself, where your majesty will have better accommoda- 
tions, purer air, more pleasure, and greater liberty." " Is 
it your sovereign's intention to send me thither as a pris- 
oner, or may I be allowed the choice of remaining where 
I am ? " asked Mary. Middlemore, though well aware of 
what was intended, answered evasively ; and Mary told 
him, in an impatient tone, that it was her desire to go to 
her majesty at once, and that if she were not allowed to 
do so, she would rather tarry where she was than be car- 
ried farther into the realm, which would be only to remove 
her farther from her friends, and make them forsake her ; 
for now she heard from them, and could comfort and 
encourage them, but then she would be where they neither 
could come nor send to her, nor she to them. Mary 
did not hesitate to blame Queen Elizabeth for her troubles, 
saying, " All those who now bear arms against me were 
called home from banishment at her instigation ; there- 
fore, her majesty should now be moved to give me aid 
against them." This argument she had urged in more than 
one of the fruitless letters she had written Queen Eliza- 



352 3Ia!y Stuart. 

beth. She now wrote it again, and, besides, gave free 
expression to the indignation she felt at her ill treatment. 
She again asserted her innocence, and described her dis- 
tress on account of the suspicion Elizabeth persisted in 
entertaining of her, and, in conclusion, begged that Lord 
Herries might be sent back to her with an answer to her 
requests. 

In spite of Lord Scroope's precautions, Mary's friends 
intercepted an important package of letters from John 
Wood, Regent Moray's private secretary, and carried them 
to her. These letters revealed to her clearly the treachery 
of the English cabinet, and their hostility towards herself. 
She very unwisely wrote to Queen Elizabeth on the sub- 
ject, as follows : — 

" Your ministers have assured the Earl of Moray that I 
shall be securely guarded, never to return to Scotland. 
Madam, if this be honorable treatment of her who came 
to throw herself into your arms for succor, I leave other 
princes to judge. I have shown all the letters from which 
I have my information to the bearer of this, and, if you 
will permit, I will send copies of them to the Kings of 
France and Spain and to the emperor, and will direct Lord 
Herries to show them to you, that you may judge whether 
it would be right to have your council for judges, who 
have taken part against me. I neither can nor will be- 
lieve that it is you who are acting thus treacherously 
by me, but that John Wood lies, as all lawyers do. But it 
is unjust that your presence should be denied to me, while 
my mother-in-law (the Countess of Lennox), and others 
whom I consider my enemies, should be admitted to preju- 
dice and accuse me to you. I beseech you not to allow me 
to be betrayed here ; give me leave to withdraw, that I may 
make the said princes my judges, and obtain assistance of 
their councils, as my enemies have done of yours. God 



is68. Alary SUiart. 



353 



grant that they lessen not your authority ; for they have 
promised Moray to lead you as they will, to let the friend- 
ship of some sovereigns go, and to gain those who loudly 
proclaim that you are unworthy to reign. If I could speak 
with you, you would repent having so long delayed, to my 
injury in the first place, and to your prejudice in the 
second." 

Indignant though Mary had cause to be, she was aware 
of only the more trivial portion of the plans concocted be- 
tween her usurping brother and Queen Elizabeth's minis- 
ters, for John Wood's real errand was to submit a lot of 
forged letters to the consideration of Cecil and his col- 
leagues before their queen should give her final decision. 
These letters the confederate lords had prepared as hav- 
ing been written by Mary to Bothwell, and proved beyond 
a doubt that she was guilty of the horrible crime with 
which she was charged. Never was a more outrageous 
attempt made, even by the most dishonest men in the 
world, to secure a decision in their own favor, and it offers 
the best proof that their cause was infamous. 

Quef n Mary now found herself treated absolutely as a 
prison -.x. None of her gentlemen-in-waiting or servants 
were jermitted to sleep in the castle, and only three of 
her ladies remained with her at night, the three rooms 
leading to her bedchamber being filled with armed men, 
while the one that opened into it was occupied by Lord 
Scroope himself. The solitary window which lighted her 
gloomy sleeping-room was latticed with iron bars to pre- 
vent her escape, and the castle gates were never opened 
until ten o'clock in the morning, excepting to admit some 
messenger from Elizabeth or her premier. After the de- 
parture of her confessor, Mary asked for an English priest 
to perform the daily religious services to which she had 
been accustomed, but Scroope said " There are no priests 



354 Mary Sttiart. 

in England," and she had to go to the cathedral on foot, 
always guarded by a hundred soldiers. 

After waiting more than a month for an audience with 
Queen Elizabeth, Lords Herries and Fleming, the latter 
being charged with messages from Mary to the court of 
Erance, were admitted to her presence. Herries opened 
the conference by telling Elizabeth that he had just heard 
that the queen, his mistress, was to be sent to Tutbury 
Castle, and that she thought it very strange she was to be 
removed so far from her own country and the high roads 
leading to it. He added, " Your majesty does not keep 
the promises so often made to my queen, on the faith of 
which she came to England; could she have imagined 
that she would be treated thus, she would have preferred 
encountering the hardest fortune that could have befallen 
her in her own country." Elizabeth replied that she in- 
tended to take the cause of the queen, her sister, in hand, 
and was deliberating on the means of restoring her to her 
own country and regal authority, either by effecting a 
reconciliation with her subjects, or by force. " For this 
purpose," she continued, " I have desired the Earl of 
Moray to send hither my Lord of Glencairn, or any other 
that may seem good to him, as his deputy, the queen, 
your mistress, doing the same on her part, whereby I shall 
be able to understand the cause of their dispute, and to 
judge between them." 

" I do not see," bluntly returned Lord Herries, " how 
your majesty can take upon yourself to be a judge 
between the queen, my mistress, and her subjects, seeing 
that she is as much a sovereign as yourself, and inferior 
to you in nothing but those misfortunes which have ren- 
dered her your suppliant. The Earl of Moray is neither 
a king nor a prince, that he should send ambassadors. He 
and the Earl of Morton are the two principal offenders 



iS68. Mary SUiart. 357 

against their queen ; and if your majesty desires information 
from them, let them take the trouble to come hither them- 
selves." " That will be best," rejoined she ; " I will write 
to them to-morrow to come." On the subject of Darnley's 
murder, Herries said, " The authors of that crime are the 
very men who now attempt to charge their sovereign with 
it. Consider, madam, the uncertainty of human affairs, 
and have pity on the calamities of your unfortunate sup- 
pliant. After the assassination of the king, her husband, 
the murder of her servants, the cruel attempts on her 
sacred person, after the prisons and chains she has en- 
dured, shall subjects be heard against their sovereign, 
traitors against their liege lady, the guilty against the 
innocent, criminals against their judge .'' I have not words 
to describe their wickedness, but I am prepared to come 
to deeds, and to verify the innocence of my queen by 
irreproachable testimony, by papers written and signed by 
her accusers." 

After considerable more parleying on this subject, dur- 
ing which Elizabeth brought forward as excuse for not 
seeing Mary the oft-repeated suspicion of her guilt, 
Herries said : " The queen, my mistress, has thrown her- 
self into your arms as the princess of all the world in 
whom she placed her principal reliance ; and if your 
majesty will freely and honestly take her cause in hand, 
in such a way as shall be consistent with her exalted rank, 
her honor and security, she will use your counsel and con- 
form herself to your will ; but she can recognize no other 
judge than God, she and her predecessors having for 
many years worn an imperial crown." Elizabeth made a 
plausible reply, and repeated her desire to assist the un- 
fortunate Mary ; but Herries was not satisfied, and 
requested permission for the Queen of Scots to go to 
France, and pointed out the danger of further delay. 



358 Mary Sttiart. 

Elizabeth again declared that she would do everything 
that could be expected for her dear sister, but that the 
horrible reports against her must be sifted for the honor 
of them both. " Not that I pretend to assume the charac- 
ter of judge," she added, " but merely of the most affec- 
tionate of friends, to find out why these things have been 
said, and by what authority her majesty's crown and 
fortresses have been seized. I hope to make an agree- 
ment between her and her subjects in the best way I can, 
and for this reason I wish the queen, your mistress, to 
come fifty or sixty miles nearer here. As for her passing 
into France, I will not so lower myself in the estimation 
of other sovereigns as to permit it, seeing that when she 
was there her husband took it upon himself to give her 
my style and title, and the royal arms pertaining to my 
realm and crown, during my life. I will not again risk 
the chance of being subjected to such an annoyance. I 
will with all diligence hasten forward the expedient I have 
resolved upon, and after that I will do as I have told you." 
" And what day, for certain, may the queen, my mistress, 
be allowed to learn your majesty's resolution ? " asked 
Lord Herries. " As soon as possible," was the reply, 
which closed the interview. 

When Lord Fleming solicited a passport to proceed 
with Mary's letters to France, he was flatly denied, and 
subterfuge was resorted to in order that both he and Her- 
ries might be detained as long as possible, thus to enable 
Cecil to win them over to Moray's side. Neither one of 
these true-hearted Scottish nobles ever swerved in the 
slightest degree from his duty to Mary Stuart, but each 
hazarded his life and all his possessions for her sake. 

The King of France sent De Montmorin to plead Mary's 
cause with Elizabeth, and to solicit permission to go to 
Carlisle with letters and consoling messages. Consent 



is68. Mary Stuart. 359 

was reluctantly granted, and the ambassador saw very 
plainly how unfriendly the English sovereign was towards 
the captive, though she pretended otherwise. His visit 
was so encouraging to poor Mary, who was always more 
frank than politic, that she ventured to write again to 
Elizabeth, complaining of the perfidy of her cabinet min- 
isters, of which she had received further evidence through 
another batch of intercepted letters. Nothing could have 
been more fatal to her cause, and Elizabeth now became 
resentful and bitter. However, she sent for John Wood, 
and confronted him with Lord Herries, who presented the 
intercepted letters. Wood was ordered to say by what 
authority he had written as he had done about Queen 
Elizabeth's ministers, whereupon he coolly confessed that 
he had no warrant for any statement he had made, but 
that he had invented them for the purpose of strengthen- 
ing his master's cause. Strange as it may seem, this crea- 
ture was not punished in any way ; on the contrary, he 
was taken more closely into Cecil's confidence than 
before. 

On the 20th of June, the English Privy Council debated 
what course to adopt with regard to the Queen of Scots, 
and passed resolutions that were entirely hostile to her. 
Then Elizabeth determined to remove her to Bolton Cas- 
tle, and sent Scroope and Knollys an order to this effect. 
Knowing that Mary would object to leaving Carlisle, these 
gentlemen told her that the queen, their mistress, had 
sent her own litter and horses for her use on the journey. 
But there was delay in the arrival of the litter, and at the 
end of ten days Mary was still at Carlisle. 

Meanwhile, Elizabeth detained Lord Herries, fearing 
that his high spirit and courageous loyalty would prompt 
him to make a bold stroke for the deliverance of his cap- 
tive sovereign by urging on the Scotch nobles of the 



360 Maiy Stuart. 

neighborhood. She sent Sir George Bowes with a hun- 
dred armed horsemen to assist in removing Mary ; but 
the captive absolutely refused to stir, and her keepers 
were too gentlemanly to use force, as the traitors in Scot- 
land had done ; so the journey was postponed again. 

Mary employed the interval in writing to the Earls of 
Huntley, Argyll, and others, urging them to oppose Mo- 
ray's regency by holding out hopes of her speedy return. 
She also sent her commission to the Due de Chatel- 
herault, appointing him lieutenant of the realm in her 
absence. She continued to declare that she would not 
leave Carlisle, although active preparations were making 
for her to do so. However, when Sir George Bowes came 
a second time, at the head of forty armed horsemen for 
her escort, she had no choice but to submit to stern 
necessity. 

" Surely, if I should declare the difficulty we have had 
to get her to remove," writes Sir Francis Knollys to Cecil, 
" instead of a letter, I should have to write a stoiy, and 
that somewhat tragical. But this I must say for her, that 
after she did see that neither her threats nor her exclama- 
tions nor her lamentations could dissuade us from our 
preparations and our determination to remove her, then, 
like a wise woman, she sought to understand whether, if 
she consented to go, she might send some of her noble- 
men into Scotland to confer with her party there." 

Queen Mary's farewell to the devoted adherents who 
had followed her to Carlisle was most touching. These 
true men of Scotland pressed around her lovely form to 
kneel and kiss her hand for the last time, and she wept 
bitterly as she dismissed them with thanks and blessings 
for their generous devotion to her service. They had 
testified their faith in her by leaving country, friends, and 
fortune, to share her doubtful fate in the ever-hostile 



is68. Mary Stuart. 361 

realm of England, and would have given their last drop of 
blood to procure her freedom. 

Surrounded by two strong companies of English guards, 
under the command of Sir George Bowes and Captain 
Read, accompanied by her keepers. Lord Scroope and Sir 
Francis Knollys, and attended by her six faithful ladies, 
and as many of the voluntary followers of her adverse 
fortunes as could obtain permission to go with her in the 
capacity of servants. Queen Mary left Carlisle. Twenty 
carriage horses and twenty-three saddle horses for the 
ladies and gentlemen, besides four little carts, were hired 
for the journey. 

Lowther Castle, one of Lord Scroope's feudal mansions, 
was the first stopping-place ; there Mary slept on the 
night of July 13, and on the following morning she set out 
again, and, after making two more stoppages, at places of 
little importance, reached Bolton Castle on the i6th. 
This prison, situated in the North Riding of Yorkshire, 
was one of the strongest in England, and was built in the 
thirteenth century, under the reign of Richard IL It 
consisted of a small tower in the centre, with four large 
square ones at the corners, connected by suites of apart- 
ments, a story lower. 

The queen was received by Lady Scroope, the same 
noble matron who had met her at Cockermouth with the 
English ladies of the Border, and attended her to Carlisle. 
A few days later, she was cheered by the return of her 
faithful servant, Lord Herries, after his long detention at 
the court of London. He brought flattering hopes of her 
speedy restoration to her throne ; not that Elizabeth and 
her ministers ever intended to bestow the assistance they 
had promised, but they had so entirely hoodwinked Lord 
Herries that he had faith in them. Mary wrote to Queen 
Elizabeth at once, thanking her in the most affectionate 



362 Mary Stuart. 

terms for the encouraging messages the envoy had 
brought. She adds : " According to the request which 
Lord Herries has conveyed to me from your grace, I have 
directed my faithful subjects, now assembling in great 
force to prevent Moray from holding his threatened Par- 
liament for attainting them, to disperse and remain quiet, 
because you, my good sister, have guaranteed that Moray 
shall not attempt anything of a hostile nature. And I 
have written to countermand the promised forces from 
France and Spain for the succor of my adherents, being 
willing to owe everything to the friendship promised by 
your majesty." 

Never did she commit a greater error ; for George 
Douglas had raised a thousand volunteers in France in 
her service. Huntley and Argyll were in the field with 
ten thousand men, and all the lords of her party, includ- 
ing two-thirds of the nobility of Scotland, were ready to 
act in concert for her restoration. They would certainly 
have succeeded had it not been for her fatal orders, which 
grieved and disappointed them, put a stop to their plans, 
and ruined their cause. Unfortunately, the promises 
made to Lord Herries were verbal, and, of course, they 
were violated; but while Mary confided in the honor of 
the English sovereign, she regained her excellent spirits, 
and passed the time as pleasantly as possible. 

Mary's absence from Scotland was regarded by the 
best class of men as a national calamity, and Moray was 
so unpopular that there were repeated plots against his 
life, not projected by the queen's friends, but by his own 
political tools and confederates. A petition was drawn 
up, and duly signed by a large majority of the peers, to 
Elizabeth, humbly beseeching her to restore their queen 
to the crown. The only reply she deigned to offer was a 
summons to Moray to appear at York, with his co-adju- 



1568. Mary Stuart. 363 

tors, to answer to the charges preferred against them by 
their queen. Mary wrote at once, requesting John Lesley, 
Bishop of Ross, to repair to her, as she wished him to 
undertake tlie management of her cause at the approach- 
ing conference, the other commissioners appointed by her 
being Lords Herries, Livingstone, and Boyd, Gavin Ham- 
ilton, Sir John Gordon, and Sir James Cockburn. 

Lesley found the queen in a state of sanguine expecta- 
tion as to the result of the conference at York, but he 
had gathered sufficient information from his spies in the 
English council to be able to undeceive her, by pointing 
out the treacher}^ of those who were pretending friend- 
ship. 

The conference opened duly on the 4th of October, 
with imposing solemnity, and the preliminary points occu- 
pied four days. It is not the purpose of this biography 
to enter into the details of the proceedings ; suffice it to 
say that as Queen Elizabeth's line of conduct was to 
utterly disgrace and crush the captive whom she had in 
her power, she broke up the conference as soon as she 
saw matters progressing in Mary's favor. When Sir 
Francis Knollys told his prisoner that the conference had 
been suspended until two of the commissioners on either 
side should go to Queen Elizabeth to explain matters, 
Mary was surprised, and said : " I supposed that my good 
sister would be present to hear all the discussions her- 
self; but since my cause will now be decided at the 
court, the rest of my commissioners may as well be sent 
back to Scotland." Knollys said he thought the sus- 
pension of the conference was but temporary, after which 
all would proceed as before. " Well, does the queen, 
your mistress, mean to effect a reconciliation between me 
and my subjects ? " asked Mary. " I know not what my 
sovereign's intentions are," replied Knollys; "but I am 



364 Mary Stuart. 

sure she will deal honorably with your grace." Even 
then his sovereign was offering every inducement to 
Moray's deputies to charge Mary with murder, assuring 
them, at the same time, that if they could show sufficient 
proof of her guilt, they should be subject to no indigna- 
tion, for her majesty would never permit her to be restored 
to the throne of Scotland. 

Under the friendly wardship of Lord and Lady Scroope, 
Mary might have made her escape from Bolton Castle 
with far greater ease than from either Borthwick or 
Lochleven, but honor prevented her from making the 
attempt. An investigation, which she herself had pro- 
posed, was pending, and, as she knew how possible it 
was to prove her innocence if only she were granted the 
opportunity, she would not give room for her foes to 
taunt her with evading it by flight. Her sense of justice 
led her to believe that she would be confronted with her 
adversaries in the presence of Queen Elizabeth and her 
nobles, and allowed to speak for herself, and to cross- 
question her accusers. She awaited the arrival of this 
moment with impatience, rehearsing over and over in her 
mind the arguments she would bring forward to annihi- 
late Moray and his confederates. This flattering dream 
was dispelled by the arrival at Bolton of the laird of 
Riccarton with letters from her commissioners, communi- 
cating the startling news that the Regent Moray, who, 
unknown to her, had obtained leave to go with his depu- 
ties to Hampton Court, had been admitted to private 
audiences with the queen ; also that Elizabeth appeared 
so set against her that she was preparing to remove her 
from her agreeable abode to a stronger and more remote 
prison, to prevent her escape. 

Mary was so indignant that she wrote to her commis- 
sioners : " Since, contrary to all that has been promised, 



iS68. Mary Stuart. 365 

the Earl of Moray, being the principal of my rebels, has 
been admitted, with his confederates, to the presence of 
the queen, to calumniate me, while I, his sovereign, am 
excluded, and denied the liberty of being heard in my 
own defence, — wherein manifest partiality has been used, 
— I desire to break up the conference, the more so as I 
know the whole nobility of the realm are about to assem- 
ble, when the matter might be publicly discussed. There- 
fore, I desire you before our sister, her nobility, and all 
the ambassadors of strange countries, to request in our 
name that we may be licensed to come in person before 
them all, to answer to all that may be brought forward 
and alleged against us by the calumnies of our rebels." 
If this request were not granted, she enjoined them to 
decline further proceedings, take their leave, and quit 
the place without delay. 

Before the commissioners could receive these instruc- 
tions, however, the conference had been renewed, and 
they had taken their oaths to act again. They therefore 
sought an audience of her majesty, and formally de- 
manded that their sovereign should be heard in her own 
defence. Elizabeth answered : " I would not take upon 
myself to be judge, nor yet to prejudice your sovereign's 
honor in any sort, nor to proceed judicially : but as to 
your sovereign's presence, I cannot properly admit the 
same until her cause be tried and ended." 

The Queen of England not only changed the place of 
the conference to Westminster, but she completely altered 
the arrangements of it, her object being to establish her 
supremacy over Scotland, by converting the English com- 
mission into a criminal court, in which Moray and his 
co-adjutors, in the name of the infant prince, were to be 
encouraged to charge their captive sovereign with the 
crime of husband-murder. Then, if she could be induced 



366 Mary Stuart. 

to defend herself, she was to be brought to a mock trial, 
and sentence of death to be passed upon her. 

The second conference opened on the 26th of Novem- 
ber. It was an absurd farce, consisting of nothing but 
assertions on the part of the rebel lords, who produced no 
evidence, entered into no details, and cited no witnesses. 
The Earl of Lennox was brought forward to demand 
justice for the death of his son ; but the only correspond- 
ence he could produce against his daughter-in-law was 
forged ; for all the letters Darnley had ever written while 
he was her husband were full of tender affection and 
praises of her virtues. 

Lord Herries replied to the accusation against Mary, in 
the name of his fellow-commissioners, in a plain, manly 
address, beginning with the regret and disgust he and his 
loyal friends felt at hearing their unworthy countrymen 
malign their liege lady. He showed plainly who were the 
murderers of Darnley, and the innocence of his sovereign 
of any knowledge or suspicion of the plot ; and he ex- 
plained that the true cause of the conspiracy against the 
government and life of Queen Mary was to create a fresh 
minority, by seeking a pretext for deposing her and 
crowning her infant son. Their reason, he said, was to 
prevent her from fulfilling her intention of availing her- 
self of the right she would have, on the completion of her 
twenty-fifth year, to recall the grants of the crown lands, 
which she had lavished so generously on the ungrateful 
traitors and their supporters. When Herries concluded, 
the Bishop of Ross demanded that Mary should have a 
personal interview with the Queen of England, for the 
purpose of answering the infamous charge against her. 
But the same convenient excuse was repeated by her 
majesty, that it would be best for the honor of both that 
the trial should proceed, adding : " For I never could be- 




QUEEN MARY, 



1568- Majy Stitart. 369 

lieve, nor yet will, that Mary consented to the deed. 
There can be no occasion, though, to trouble our good 
sister to come into our presence until it shall appear what 
her accusers can prove. I will send for them, and inquire 
about it ; for I think it very reasonable that she should be 
heard in her own cause, which is so weighty ; but to de- 
termine before whom, when, and where, I am not yet 
prepared." Mary's commissioners replied that disobedi- 
ent subjects ought not to be heard further until their sov- 
ereign were present to speak for herself, adding, " Our 
■own business is now at an end ; and we will make no 
answer to anything others may say." They concluded by 
requiring a positive answer about Mary's coming ; but 
Elizabeth quietly replied that it required consideration, 
and so dismissed them. 

In December, Mary received private intelligence from 
her friends in the English Privy Council that a secret 
treaty had been concluded between her false brother 
Moray and Queen Elizabeth, for surrendering both Stir- 
ling Castle and the prince into the hands of the latter, 
and she wrote to the Earl of Mar as follows : " The natu- 
ral love I bear my child, and my care for the preservation 
of that which it has pleased God to commit to my charge, 
impels me to write this letter to you, to inform you of 
things which, I doubt not, are concealed from you, or at 
least disguised by those in whom you confide the most. 
My son is about to be taken out of your hands and sent 
to this country, and the care of Stirling Castle committed 
to a garrison of foreigners. You know I confided both the 
one and the other to you from the trust I had in you and 
those belonging to you. However you may, through the 
persuasions of others, have departed from your first glow 
of loyalty, yet if there be still remaining in you some lin- 
gering feeling and remembrance of what I have shown I 



370 Mary Stuart. 

bear to you, though you may not acknowledge it in my 
behalf, let it at least be testified in that of my son, of 
whom I pray you have the care to which your honor and 
the affection you owe your country oblige you. Take 
heed that you be not robbed of my son, either by force or 
fraud, for what I tell you is certain ; the only question is 
how it is to be executed." 

As it suited Mar's selfish interests to keep possession of 
the little king, in whose name the faction that had de- 
throned Mary governed Scotland, the pledge he had given 
her served as his pretext for opposing his nephew's secret 
treaty with Elizabeth, and he positively refused to give 
him up. 

Having set her mind on getting the infant into her own 
hands, Elizabeth instructed Sir Francis Knollys to so 
intimidate the captive queen as to induce her to ratify her 
abdication, to continue to live in England as a private 
individual, consent that her son should retain his title of 
king, and that the Earl of Moray should continue to gov- 
ern Scotland in his name. On these conditions the 
charges of the conspirators were to be silenced for- 
ever. Mary listened at first very patiently to the propo- 
sitions Knollys made, particularly as he pretended that he 
thought it would be to her advantage to yield, and was 
assisted by Lord Scroope, who advised her by all means 
to do so, both for her own safety and that of her son. At 
last, however, she became indignant when she remembered 
her wrongs, and exclaimed, " Shall I resign for those 
rebels who have so shamefully belied me ? " " No ; your 
grace may do it out of respect for her majesty's advice," 
said Scroope, and then continued with many plausible 
reasons why she should. " Well," replied she, " I will 
make no answer for two days," and so departed to 
bed. 



is69- Mary Stuart. 371 

Soon after, Mary's courier, Borthwick, arrived at Bol- 
ton, bringing letters of importance from the Bishop of 
Ross. She remained in her own chamber the whole of 
that day, perusing the letters and conferring with the 
courier. Lord Boyd (one of her commissioners who had 
obtained permission to visit her), and Raulet, her faithful 
French secretary. In the evening she appeared cheerful, 
and repeated with lively satisfaction various friendly ob- 
servations and favorable promises which she said the 
queen, her good sister, had made to the Bishop of Ross. 
One of these was : " I will have Mary a queen still, 
though her son should be associated in the regal title with 
her, and the Earl of Moray carry on the government with 
her in their joint names." " This is a great deal better 
than anything you have persuaded me to do," observed 
Mary to Knollys and Scroope. Upon this, Knollys 
actually took the liberty of lecturing his royal mistress for 
having allowed her sympathies to get the better of her. 

[A.D. 1569.] Mary had written her commissioners to 
make a formal demand for copies of the letters which 
Moray and his colleagues had said were written by her. 
But Elizabeth said she must have time to consider the 
matter, and repeated the propositions that had already 
been made through Knollys. At first the commissioners 
refused to write them to Queen Mary, but on being 
pressed they consented, and the reply they received was 
as follows : " Trouble me no more about renouncing my 
crown, for I am resolutely determined rather to die, and 
that the last word I shall speak in life will be that of a 
Queen of Scotland." 

This royal declaration of her captive cousin convinced 
Elizabeth that she could not yet annex Scotland to her 
dominion, nor entirely extinguish the political importance 
of her rival. She would not allow Mary to have copies of 



3/2 Mary Stuart. 

the letters Moray and his party had forged, because she 
knew that they would not bear the test of calm investiga- 
tion ; she therefore directed Cecil to break up the confer- 
ence, which he did on the loth of January with the 
following announcement : " Inasmuch as there has been 
nothing as yet deduced against the confederate lords that 
might impair their honor and allegiance, so, on the other 
hand, there has been nothing sufficient produced by them 
against their sovereign whereby the Queen of England 
may conceive or take any evil opinion of the queen, her 
good sister, for anything she has yet heard." 

This declaration was of the utmost importance as prov- 
ing that, without even hearing Mary in her own defence, 
Elizabeth, Cecil, and the English commissioners were con- 
vinced that the evidence was false, and that the letters 
were forged. All the literary' and diplomatic talent of 
Scotland and England combined had been arrayed against 
Mary Stuart, yet her adversaries had not succeeded in 
establishing the accusations they had brought against her. 

It irritated Elizabeth to find how many of her noblemen 
were convinced of Mary's innocence, particularly when 
they said frankly that as a matter of justice, and for the 
honor of England, the Queen of Scots, having confided 
her cause to the arbitration of their sovereign, ought to be 
placed on her throne by her majesty's appointment. She 
was particularly annoyed with the Duke of Norfolk, the 
most important and popular nobleman in England, who 
was loud in Mary's defence. She took him to task for it, 
and he replied that he had no intention of offending her, 
his natural sovereign, but was minded to serve and honor 
her according to his duty, for the term of her natural life, 
but after her, the Queen of Scots, as most lawful in his 
opinion, and for the prevention of civil wars and great 
bloodshed that micrht otherwise fall out." 



1569- Marjf Stuart. ^y^ 

Elizabeth was very angry at this, but she dared not 
touch the influential nobleman just then ; she vented her 
jealous fears on poor Mary, who was entirely in her power, 
and forthwith sent a peremptory order for her immediate 
removal from Bolton Castle to the gloomy fortress of Tut- 
bury, in Staffordshire. Mary protested against this unwel- 
come change, declaring that she was a free princess, and 
would not be removed further from her own realm. But 
her objections were unavailing, and she was told that if 
she offered any resistance, she and her female attendant 
would be carried in their beds to a litter and locked in 
securely until they reached the new prison to which the 
English sovereign had assigned them. The captive queen 
wrote to her ambassador at the court of England, begging 
him to remonstrate with the cruel Elizabeth, though she 
must have felt that there was little mercy to be expected 
from that quarter. 



CHAPTER XV. 

[A.D. 1569.] Far different from her treatment of Mary 
Stuart was that which EUzabeth bestowed on Moray and 
his confederates. They had been honored with no end of 
private audiences, and, after a grand farewell reception, 
they were dismissed with public tokens of regard. Eliza- 
beth had, besides, graciously promised to maintain the 
usurper in the regency, and had rewarded him with a 
present of five thousand pounds. Nevertheless, he and 
his company dared not begin their homeward journey, 
even with the armed escort furnished by their royal 
patroness, for their conduct had aroused the indignation 
of Mary's partisans in the counties through which their 
route lay, and they received news that they were to be 
intercepted and slain. But Moray found a way to sneak 
out of danger. He addressed himself to the Duke of 
Norfolk, through their mutual friend, Throckmorton, with 
professions of penitence and regret for the course to 
which he said he had been reluctantly driven by the arts 
and subtle dealings of his associates in treason, declared 
himself wear^- of the position he occupied, and anxious 
for a reconciliation with his royal sister and sovereign, 
and desirous to join with her party for the purpose of 
restoring her to her throne. Norfolk caught at this bait, 
and consented to confer with the traitor. 

A private meeting took place between them in the park 
at Hampton Court, where Moray repeated what he had 
said before, and declared that his sister Mary was the 
creature he loved best on earth and most desired to honor. 

374 



1 569- Mary Stuart. 375 

He also added : " On my return to Scotland, I shall pro- 
pose a general convention of nobles for the purpose of 
sending deputies to the Queen of England, requesting her 
to make a perfect agreement between them and their 
queen, and to restore her to them. This, on my faith and 
honor, I engage to do, providing that I and all who have 
offended her majesty may be assured of her forgiveness. 
But there is danger of her choosing for her husband some 
great prince of France, Spain, or Austria, who would 
avenge the injuries she has received, and persuade her 
to alter the established religion ; now, to avoid this, I 
desire to propose that you should marry her. I do this 
because I esteem you above any of the English nobles, 
because of the friendship that once existed between us, 
and the many benefits you were the means of procuring 
for me from the Queen of England when I was in exile. 
Moreover, you and I are of the same religion, which I 
trust you may induce Mary to embrace, and her subjects 
will receive the Duke of Norfolk in preference to any one 
of their nation." 

As Norfolk had long been deeply enamored of Queen 
Mary, he was easily flattered by the consummate villain 
into the hope of marrying her, and so entered into an 
agreement with him, and wrote at once to the imprisoned 
queen, advising her to accept Moray's overtures for par- 
don and reconciliation. 

Even while making his deceitful professions of peni- 
tence, Moray was doing his utmost to exasperate Queen 
Elizabeth by sending her more forged letters in Mary's 
name filled with complaints of her perfidious conduct dur- 
ing the conference. These were neither dated nor signed, 
but Elizabeth was only too ready to credit anything detri- 
mental to her hated rival that would afford excuse for 
harsh treatment. Her ministers had taken special pains 



3/6 Alary SUiart. 

to persuade her that Mary's real business in England was 
to contest the crown with her, and such a thought natu- 
rally angered her excessively. She now repeated her 
order for the captive's removal to Tutbury, and notwith- 
standing all her objections, Mary was forced to leave. 
Bolton Castle on the 26th of January. 

Her majesty and her devoted friend. Lady Livingstone^ 
were both so ill that they were placed in litters, while the 
little train of French and Scotch attendants followed oa 
horseback. A more dissatisfied band never traversed a 
wilder or more desolate country on a cold, bleak midwin- 
ter day. The person most to be pitied, after Mary, was 
Sir Francis Knollys, who had just buried his beloved and 
loving wife, and was in no frame of mind to bear the 
complaints of the indignant ladies, or to put unkind con- 
straint on the will of the loveliest and most unfortunate 
queen in Christendom. 

On arriving at Ripon, he informed Mary of the last 
letters that Elizabeth had received, as he had been in- 
structed by that sovereign to do, though he knew that they 
were forged. Mary wrote at once to exonerate herself 
from ever having put anything in black and white that 
could possibly offend her majesty ; and at the same time 
she begged that no harm might be done to her commis- 
sioners, but that they might be allowed to return in safety 
to Scotland. 

Before leaving Ripon, Mary was surprised by a visit 
from Sir Robert Mehdlle, who was charged with profes- 
sions of penitence, affection, and offers of service from 
the Earl of Moray, as well as with his promise that if she 
would forgive and restore him to her favor, he would 
replace her on her throne, and make himself the instru- 
ment for accomplishing her marriage with his friend, the 
Duke of Norfolk. 



1569- Mary SUiart. 2)77 

Mary replied that she was sorry the Earl of Moray and 
his adherents had so far forgotten their duty towards 
her, who not only was their native princess, but had 
been a friend to him above all others ; but yet she felt 
so lovingly towards her realm and her subjects that she 
would always use herself towards them as a mother to her 
children, so that they would frankly acknowledge their 
offence, and declare their intention to serve and obey her 
in the future ; and if he would fulfil his promise by labor- 
ing for her restoration to her crown and realm, then she 
would use his advice in all her affairs, especially touching 
her marriage either with the Duke of Norfolk or any other 
honorable prince who might be thought most fit by her 
nobility for her honor and the weal of her realm. She 
added, " But I must decline to speak further on the sub- 
ject of my marriage until I am restored to liberty and my 
throne." So far, so well ; but she knew that Moray was a 
doomed man, and, much as he had injured, deceived, and 
belied her, she was willing to protect him. An escort of 
two thousand armed men could not have saved his life ; 
but a few lines traced by her hand, captive though she 
was, averted every danger, and opened a way for him. 
Thus he was allowed to pass through the northern counties 
unmolested, though he saw armed forces sufficiently large 
to convince him that he could not possibly have escaped 
if they had persevered in their designs against his life. 

After resting one day and two nights at Ripon, Mary 
was compelled to proceed on her journey. Lady Living- 
stone's illness was so seriously aggravated by the fatigue 
of travelling, and by exposure to cold, that she was left 
behind at Rotherham, and her royal mistress was reluc- 
tantly obliged to proceed without her. 

On the 3d of February, eight days after her departure 
from Bolton Castle, Queen Mary arrived at Tutbury. She 



S7^ Mary Stuart. 

was received as a prisoner of state by the Earl and 
Countess of Shrewsbury, her new keepers, to whom the 
custody of her person was formally consigned by Sir 
Francis Knollys. 

George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, was one of the rich- 
est and most avaricious members of the ancient nobility 
of England. He was naturally of a kind, courteous dis- 
position ; but he was excessively timid and cautious, a 
constitutional invalid, and completely under the control of 
his unamiable and jealous wife, to whom, in the decline 
of life, he had rashly ventured to become the fourth hus- 
band. By his first wife he had a large family, who were in 
the line of the royal succession, and related both to Queen 
Elizabeth and to Mary Stuart. 

Lady Shrewsbury had been in the service of Queen 
Elizabeth, and her characteristics were thoroughly well 
known to that sovereign. Her third husband had left her 
a large fortune, which no doubt induced the Earl of 
Shrewsbury to seek her hand. She has been described as 
a woman of masculine understanding and conduct, proud, 
selfish, jealous, and unfeeling. She was a house-builder, 
a dealer in real estate, a money-lender, a farmer, and a 
merchant in lead, coal, and limber. In consigning Mary 
to the jailership of the earl, Elizabeth calculated that, 
though he might yield to feelings of compassion, and be 
tempted to lighten the chains of his illustrious charge, he 
would be circumvented by his conjugal spy and tyrant. 

Tutbury Castle being almost destitute of furniture and 
comforts, the following articles were sent from the royal 
wardrobe in the Tower of London for the use of the Queen 
of Scots : " Six pieces of tapestry hangings representing 
the Passion (lined with canvas), six pieces of tapestry hang- 
ings representing the history of Curtius, seven pieces of 
the same on which were depicted the story of Hercules, 



^ 




DON CARLOS. 



1569- Mary Stuart. 381 

four large Turkey carpets, four beds and bolsters filled 
with feathers, four counterpanes lined with canvas, three 
crimson cloth-of-gold chairs, eight cloth-of-gold cushions, 
two stools embroidered with gold on satin, three footstools 
covered with tissue, twelve Turkish rugs, eight pairs of 
sheets of coarse holland, hooks to hang the curtains, and 
cords for the beds." Though Mary's arrival had been 
long expected, these articles did not reach Tutbury until 
considerably later, and the apartments she was doomed to 
occupy were damp and delapidated. The next day the 
queen was confined to her bed with neuralgia in her head 
and neck, accompanied by fever ; and this was the begin- 
ning of many such attacks, consequent upon the unhealth- 
ful atmosphere of the prison. 

After an unreasonable delay, Queen Mary's commis- 
sioners obtained license from Elizabeth to leave London, 
and repair to their royal mistress, to explain to her what 
had taken place at the conferences. They arrived at 
Tutbury Castle on the 7th of February. Though still 
suffering severely from her indisposition, Mary roused 
herself to examine the register in which their daily pro- 
ceedings were recorded, and she was pleased to sign a 
testimonial expressing her approval of all that had been 
said and done in her behalf, though the success had not 
been what she had hoped. 

When Sir Francis Knollys took leave of Mary, she 
asked him to inform the Earl of Shrewsbury that, previous 
to her removal from Bolton, a promise had been made to 
her that the same number of attendants were to be re- 
tained in her service, with liberty for her to send special 
messengers with letters to her friends in Scotland, and to 
Queen Elizabeth. Knollys denied having made such a 
promise, and Shrewsbury assured her that it was against 
his orders for her to hold any communication whatsoever 



382 Mary Stuart. 

with her reahn, adding : "And your majesty's commission- 
ers cannot be allowed to remain here now that they have 
performed the business on which they came, but must de- 
part immediately." 

Mary wrote to Elizabeth, remonstrating against so 
many restrictions, which she thought must be the result of 
some misunderstanding. She repeated her readiness to 
prove her innocence, whenever she might be allowed to 
speak in her own defence, and, in a postscript, she 
added : " I have just learned that my cousin, the Due 
de Chatelherault, notwithstanding your majesty's passport, 
has been arrested at York, and begs that he may be liber- 
ated, and permitted to proceed on his journey to his own 
country, whence he has been too long absent." He was, 
nevertheless, detained until after Moray's return to Scot- 
land. 

Mary now decided to send Lord Herries to Scotland 
with letters and instructions to her adherents there, to re- 
tain Lord Boyd to assist Lord Livingstone as her principal 
officers of state, and personal advisers, and to employ 
Lesley, Bishop of Ross, as her envoy to the court of 
England and elsewhere, as occasion and necessity might 
require. No sooner, however, had Lord Herries departed, 
than a sudden order arrived for Lord Boyd and the BishoiD 
of Ross to withdraw to Burton-on-Trent, under pretence 
that they were suspected of desiring to effect the queen's 
escape, but, in reality, the object was to deprive her of the 
comfort of their society, and the benefit of their advice. 

Mary instructed Lord Herries to see that her loyal ad- 
herents in Scotland attended the convention of nobles 
which the Earl of Moray was about to assemble, because 
it was to be the prelude to her restoration to liberty and 
her crown. Never was she more completely deceived ; 
Moray did, indeed, summon the convention, but his pur- 



1569- Mary SUiart. 383 

pose was to entrap those peers whom he could not bribe 
from their allegiance to their captive sovereign. The ma- 
jority of them distrusted him to such an extent that they 
paid no attention whatever to the summons ; but the Due 
de Chatelherault and Lord Herries, knowing that Mary and 
Norfolk had entered into a secret treaty with the regent, 
and being impressed with a firm belief in the sincerity of 
his intentions, boldly presented themselves at the conven- 
tion. They had the mortification of discovering that their 
royal mistress had been the dupe of his perfidy, and of 
finding their names paraded as deserters from her cause, 
and members of his party. Herries wrote at once to ex- 
plain the real state of the case to Mary, and sent her a 
copy of the proclamation put forth by Moray asserting that 
at the conference held in England she had been found 
guilty, and Queen Elizabeth had pronounced sentence 
against her. 

Mary instantly addressed letters to Cecil and Elizabeth, 
complaining of this falsehood, which she sent by her 
faithful messenger, Borthwick. To the former she wrote 
as follows : — 

" Having received a copy of a proclamation made by 
my rebels, and since, a letter from my Lord Herries, in- 
forming me of things to which I could not give faith, be- 
ing so opposed to my expectations, from the promises that 
had been made to me to the contrary, I could not refrain 
from writing frankly to the queen, my good sister, for they 
are matters in honor and conscience touching me so sensi- 
bly that I could no longer suppress my complaints. I 
have charged this bearer to communicate these to you, 
praying you to hear him favorably, and to give credit to 
what he will tell you from me ; and if to my misfortune 
the queen should regard my letters as importunate or dis- 
agreeable, as it has happened before, remind her that the 



384 Mary Stuart. 

cause which moves me is the justice of my right, rather 
than the rudeness and freedom of my pen, doing this good 
office for me for no other reason than equity, that I may 
have a positive answer from the queen from whom I desire 
and hope to receive comfort, or at least determination. 
As for the false reports they have made of me, both in re- 
gard to things particular and general, I hope that Time, 
the father of truth, and my innocence will bring remedy. 
I will not therefore enter further into the subject, save to 
beg you, as I told your servant at Bolton, to reserve one 
ear for my use without partiality, and I hope my innocence 
and the sincerity of my conduct may merit better if they 
are closely considered by you and the other good servants 
of the queen, my sister." 

To Elizabeth, she addressed herself in the style of an 
equal : " I send Borthwick, the bearer of this, to you, 
with the copy of some points contained in a proclamation 
made by my rebels, where they make mention of a sen- 
tence given by you on the cause in dispute, by them 
falsely represented in your presence and that of your 
council. I entreat you to read and consider it, and let 
me know your mind by this bearer. The case is too 
important to brook longer delay without understanding 
your intentions, both in respect to that, and for redress of 
the unjust proceedings of your ministers on the Borders. 
Those at Carlisle capture my servants, seize and open 
their letters, and send them to the court ; far from what 
was promised and written to me, that it was not intended 
for me to have less liberty than before. Very different is 
the treatment of my rebels, with whom I do not think I 
am on an equality, for they have been well received by 
you, with liberty to come and go, and continually sent 
supplies of money, and, as they say, — which you will be 
pleased to see by this accompanying letter, — assured of 



1569- Mary Stuart. 385 

the support of men at their need. And thus are they 
maintained who have falsely accused and endeavored to 
brand me with infamy, while I, who came to throw myself 
into your arms, am refused the countenance which is 
given to these offenders. I shall be constrained, to my 
regret, to seek it elsewhere, if I am not, according to my 
hope and desire, promptly assisted by you. I am removed 
farther from my country, and detained, while your presence, 
so requisite to my justification, is denied ; and at last all 
means are cut off and denied of hearing from my people, 
and making them understand my pleasure. I do not 
think I have deserved such treatment. I confided in you, 
and you have been pleased to support my rebels in all 
their enterprises against me, although I have done as you 
counselled, and refrained, in compliance with your re- 
quest, from seeking any other aid than yours, not only 
desiring to please you, but to obey you, as a daughter 
would her mother. I might have had my adversaries so 
well saluted on the Border as to leave them small oppor- 
tunity for levying soldiers for the ruin of my poor people." 
Then, with more sincerity than prudence, she concluded 
by again warning Elizabeth that, in the event of her con- 
tinuing inexorable, she would seek succor elsewhere. 

At the same time, Mary sent a letter by Borthwick to 
La Mothe Fe'nelon, the French ambassador, with whom 
she contrived, by the aid of friends, to keep up a secret 
correspondence, and on whom she always relied for cor- 
rect information of passing events in France, England, 
and Scotland, much that was false being communicated 
to her from other quarters on purpose to deceive her. 
" When I hear of anything that is going on at a distance," 
she wrote to him, " I am always in doubt until I receive 
letters from you ; for, though I do not believe all the 
reports and alarms they give me, I cannot help being 



386 Mary Stuart. 

uneasy in the meantime. I am strictly guarded, as the 
bearer of this will tell you ; and they stop and search all 
messengers whom they suspect of having letters for or 
from me. If you and I had a cipher, I should not involve 
others in so much peril by writing to you." 

At the end of a fortnight, Mary received Elizabeth's 
answer to her letter. She wrote : " Madam, — Having 
learned your grievances, and understanding that you are 
greatly annoyed about some words contained in the proc- 
lamations made by your subjects, signifying that I had 
given sentence against you, I am much astonished that 
you should have had so much trouble in fancying them to 
be true ; for if so be they have written them, how could it 
enter into your thoughts that I should have had so little 
value for my honor, or so much have forgotten my natural 
affection for you, as to condemn you before I heard your 
reply, and so little regard to order as to have concluded 
before I had begun." Then, entirely ignoring Mary's 
solemn denial of the denunciation of the accusing party, 
she observes : " I have awaited your declaration on the 
subject, and, in the meantime, have hushed up the case, 
and made Lord Moray and the others oblige themselves 
before myself and my council not to annoy the other 
party." 

Mary was now removed to Wingfield Manor House, a 
strong, stately castle on the brow of a Derbyshire hill, in a 
wild out-of-the-way district, but commanding an extensive 
view of the picturesque valley of Ashover. Shortly after 
her removal, Mary wrote to La Mothe Fe'nelon, the French 
ambassador, telling him of the disastrous blow her cause 
liad received in Scotland, on account of the success of the 
regent's treacherous plot for entrapping Lord Herries and 
the Due de Chatelherault, whose conduct, she suspected, 
had been entirely misrepresented to her by Queen Eliza- 



1569- Mary Stuart. 387 

beth. She begs the ambassador to represent their case 
to the court of France, entreats his good offices to obtain 
succor for her royal friends at Dumbarton, and, by way of 
postscript, adds : " I have just received the advice here- 
with enclosed from the Earl of Huntley. I believe he 
will do as he says ; for, besides the obligation he owes me 
for his life and property, he has a deadly feud with the 
Earl of Moray, who has done to death his father and his 
brother, and would do the like by him if he could, and 
exterminate his house. Huntley holds still in my name 
all the northern counties, and, with a little aid, would be 
able to possess himself of several other places of impor- 
tance. If a junction could be made with him, from the 
side of Dumbarton, the whole of the west country would 
rise in my favor." 

The letter which Mary enclosed to Fenelon shows what 
a brave, manly soldier Huntley was. He says : " I have 
before this written to your majesty of the trick the Due 
de Chatelherault and his party have played, in agreeing 
with the Earl of Moray, of which I knew nothing, until 
they summoned me, one day, to Edinburgh ; I entreat 
your majesty to make him explain his intentions ; for 
being so far away, I cannot feel sure of any one. There- 
fore if I can avoid my total ruin, I will not do anything 
until I have your majesty's instructions. I entreat you 
not to take in evil part anything I may be forced to do, 
for be assured that, as long as I live, you will find me 
faithful to your service ; for I would rather meet my death 
by the traitors than do aught to displease your majesty. 
However matters may have turned out, the Due de Chatel- 
herault has not acted honorably, either in your majesty's 
cause, or to me, which makes me humbly entreat that you 
will hasten the aid of France and Spain, and I will take 
everything on myself. Two thousand or even five hun- 



388 Mary Stuart. 

dred men would suffice, with proper munitions. I entreat 
your majesty to be assured that my life and all I have are 
at your command," 

All Mary had power to do was to exhort the true-hearted 
Huntley to continue firm in her cause, and she wrote to 
the same effect to the Earl of Argyll, Chatelherault in- 
formed her of his imprisonment, and begged her to inter- 
cede with Queen Elizabeth for his release. She promised 
to exert herself to the utmost in his behalf, and added : 
" Do not fear, be constant and faithful, and relief will 
come to you in one way or another." 

As the Bishop of Ross had succeeded in exonerating 
himself from the charge of planning Mary's escape, he 
was sent as ambassador to the English court. He repre- 
sented the outrage committed by Moray in arresting the 
loyal servants of his sovereign, and entreated Elizabeth 
to insist on their release ; but, as usual, no notice was 
taken of his request, nor of the letter on the same subject 
from Mary. 

Meanwhile, the Regent Moray followed up his daring 
and successful stroke of treachery by sweeping through 
Scotland with an enormous military force, robbing and 
destroying the goods and chattels of those who showed 
their good will towards their sovereign, and imposing on 
them such enormous taxes as it was out of the question 
for them to meet. Everything was in his hands, — all the 
queen's private property, the resources of her realm, and 
even her only child, whom he used as an excuse for his 
usurpation. At last, matters came to such a pass that 
Argyll and even Huntley despaired of ever being able to 
accomplish their sovereign's liberation, and, terrified by 
the treatment of Chatelherault, Lord Herries, and other 
noble loyalists, considered it best to yield to the force of 
circumstances. They therefore signed a treaty on the 



1569- Mary Stuart. 389 

loth of May, consenting to acknowledge Moray's au- 
thority. 

Strange to say, on that same day, the queen was at- 
tacked with a severe fit of vomiting and convulsions, 
which prostrated her so dreadfully that it was feared she 
would die. After twenty-four hours she appeared better, 
but on the day following she had a relapse, and her death 
was reported in London. Queen Elizabeth manifested 
great concern, and even sent her own physician to exam- 
ine into the case ; but by the time he arrived, the invalid 
was better. Then her majesty wrote a letter of congratu- 
lation to Mary, in which she said : " I praise God that I 
heard nothing of your danger until the worst was past, 
for such news would have given me little content ; but if 
any such bad accident as your death had befallen you in 
this country, I verily believe I should have deemed my 
days too long. I rely much on the goodness of God, that 
I may not be permitted to fall into such a trouble, and 
that he will preserve me in the good opinion of the world 
to the end of my career." 

Well did she know that if her captive's sudden and mys- 
terious illness had proved fatal, all the world would have 
said that poison had been administered by her order, and 
it would not have been easy to exonerate herself from 
such an imputation. 

When Mary recovered, she had so little money that she 
was unable to pay the two extra physicians whom the 
Earl of Shrewsbury had summoned, when alarmed at her 
symptoms. She despatched Borthwick to London to 
inform Lesley, Bishop of Ross, of her destitute condition. 
Having no means to spare, Lesley informed the Duke of 
Norfolk of the captive sovereign's distress. " Neither 
the Queen of Scots, nor any of her faithful followers, 
shall lack," was the reply of the generous peer, who 



390 Mary Stuart. 

handed two hundred pounds to the messenger, for her use. 
To this he shortly added three hundred pounds more, 
forty of which Borthwick claimed for his own services. 

Mary also sent her secretary, Raulet, to France to 
borrow money, but he only wasted his time in fruitless 
endeavors. Then Lesley, Bishop of Ross, obtained from 
the Spanish ambassador a bill of exchange for ten thou- 
sand Italian crowns, drawn on Roberto Rodolphi, a near 
relation of the house of Medicis, and the secret minister of 
the pope in England. With this money the queen dis- 
charged her debt to Norfolk, and sent relief to many of 
her impoverished adherents in Scotland ; but it was dearly 
paid for, by entangling her and her followers in the 
intrigues of the Roman Catholics for breaking her 
engagement with Norfolk and marrying her to Don John 
of Austria. The object of this plot was to place Mary at 
the head of the papal revolt that was on the eve of 
breaking out in the northern counties. 

But Mary had no intention of disturbing the govern- 
ment of Elizabeth, with whom she now entered into a 
treaty, through her representative, Lesley, for her restora- 
tion to liberty and her crown. The conditions were that 
she was to consent to associate her infant with herself in 
the sovereignty of Scotland, and permit her brother to 
assist in the government ; to ratify the Treaty of Edin- 
burgh, and submit to various other demands, to which she 
had previously objected. A great part of the month of 
May was spent by the English council in deliberating on 
the terms which their sovereign had dictated, and several 
clauses were added for the satisfaction of Moray and his 
party. Mary guaranteed pardon to all who had offended 
her, promised that no alteration should be made in the 
established religion, consented to render Bothwell's ban- 
ishment perpetual, and to procure a divorce from him. 




DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA. 



1569- Maty Stuart. 393 

At last everything was considered settled by the Eng- 
lish council and the Bishop of Ross, even John Wood pro- 
fessing himself satisfied ; but Elizabeth put in a protest, 
declaring that she had some doubts about Mary's having 
ceded her claims on the crown of England to the Due 
d'Anjou. It will be remembered that Henry 11. of France, 
taking an unfair advantage of Mary's youth and inex- 
perience, had obtained her signature, previous to her 
marriage with his son, the Dauphin Francis, bequeathing 
her rights in Scotland and Ireland to him and his suc- 
cessors, in the event of her dying without lawful issue. 
It was to this document that Elizabeth referred. 

At Mary's request, a paper was drawn up and sent over 
by the Due d'Anjou, fully exonerating his well beloved 
sister, the Queen of Scotland, from ever having made any 
transfer of her rights to him. And Mary addressed letters 
to Cecil and the privy council of England, containing a 
formal denial of having done so. Her party amongst the 
English aristocracy was now daily on the increase, both 
in strength and importance, and this was the best proof 
that no credit was attached to the monstrous charges 
brought against her at the conferences. Elizabeth's un- 
generous treatment of her offended people of the reformed 
faith, as well as of her own. Here was a lovely, intel- 
lectual, liberal-minded princess held a prisoner, in defi- 
ance of the laws of nations, by a sister sovereign, with 
whom she was not at war, and on whose protection she had 
voluntarily thrown herself, when compelled to seek refuge 
from the insatiate malice of the ungrateful traitors whom 
she had pardoned, recalled from exile, and restored to 
their estates. Her brother had been supported in his 
usurpation and shameful treatment of her loyal subjects, 
while she was insulted and dragged from one prison to 
another, prevented from receiving letters from her friends, 



394 Mary Stuart. 

browbeaten and frightened by her keepers, and plied 
with deceitful professions of friendship and assistance 
from Elizabeth, for the sole purpose of inducing her to 
consent to a forced abdication, and to resign her title 
to the English succession. Never had an unfortunate 
princess been subjected to such shameful treatment before, 
and right-minded people regarded it as a national disgrace. 
A century later such proceedings on the part of a sover- 
eign and her premier would have been seriously investi- 
gated by Parliament ; but as that body was subservient to 
the will of the crown in the sixteenth century, a con- 
federacy of the great nobles took the law in their own 
hands. They agreed to settle the succession of the realm 
on Mary Stuart if she would pledge herself to the follow- 
ing articles : — ■ 

" To give ample surety to the Queen of England and 
her heirs for the crown of England. 

" That a perpetual league, offensive and defensive, be 
made between them and their heirs. 

" That the reformed religion be established in Scotland. 

" That her subjects in Scotland be reconciled to her 
and accepted in as great favor as ever they were. 

"That she procure the renunciation of the Due d'An- 
jou to the crown of England. 

"And lastly, because it was feared that the Queen of 
Scotland would marry with some foreign prince, that she 
should consent to accept some nobleman of England, 
especially the Duke of Norfolk, who is of the first of the 
nobility of that realm, and of all others the most fit, and 
no doubt the most agreeable to the Queen of England." 

When these articles were presented to Lesley by the 
associate English nobles, he said that as some of them 
were very important, he could not agree to them without 
consulting the queen, his mistress ; he therefore requested 



1569- Id'aiy Stuart. 395 

that they be sent for her consideration by a messenger of 
their own, adding : " In the meantime, I will inform her 
thereof, and I doubt not she will return a reasonable 
answer." 

Letters from Leicester and other great noblemen, be- 
sides some handsome gifts, accompanied these articles, 
and were carried to Queen Mary by Mr. Cavendish. Her 
answer was sent to London by Lord Boyd, and delivered 
by him and Lesley to the lords who had taken her cause 
in hand. She wrote that in respect to the proposals 
made to her by the council, she agreed to give security for 
the Queen of England's title. As to the league with Eng- 
land, she would inform the King of France, and would do 
her best to have it so arranged as to include him therein ; 
for otherwise her nobility of Scotland would hardly be 
persuaded to agree to it ; and she had procured the renun- 
ciation by the Due d'Anjou of the alleged title. As for 
the establishment of the religion, she had already satisfied 
her subjects in Scotland, by acts and statutes made in 
Parliament for that purpose, and if anything further were 
required, she would do it on her return. With regard to 
her marriage, she said that she had been so sorely vexed 
by her marriages in times past that she was loath to think 
of such matters, being rather of mind to live a solitary life 
for the rest of her days ; yet, nevertheless, all other things 
being agreed and concluded to her reasonable satisfaction, 
she was content to comply with the advice of the nobility 
of England, in favor of her marriage with the Duke of 
Norfolk, whom she liked the better because he was well 
reported of, and beloved by the nobility of his own coun- 
try ; and she desired them to learn the Queen of Eng- 
land's pleasure on the subject ; for unless her majesty 
were well disposed to it, she feared the Duke of Norfolk 
might fare the worse for such expressions of good will and 



39^ Mary Stuart. 

favor as she might give utterance to, particularly as she 
remembered the sad experience of her marriage with Lord 
Darnley. 

The nobles assured her that there was no difficulty in 
this instance, as Elizabeth's great fear was lest she should 
enter into either a French, Spanish, or Austrian marriage, 
and that, through Leicester's influence with his royal mis- 
tress, everything might in time be accomplished, Mary 
then gave this promise, that as soon as her marriage with 
Bothwell could be lawfully dissolved, she would become 
the consort of the Duke of Norfolk. 

She lost no time in applying to the pope to release her 
from the abhorrent wedlock into which she had been 
forced, and at the same time she despatched a messenger to 
Denmark, who succeeded in inducing Bothwell to draw up 
and sign a document consenting to a dissolution of their 
marriage. The king and all the royal family of France 
expressed their approval of Mary's intended union with 
the Duke of Norfolk, and even the King of Spain pre- 
tended to favor it, although he continued to recommend 
his brother, Don John of Austria. A contract of marriage 
was executed by the duke and sent to Mary for her signa- 
ture, together with a costly diamond. She signed the con- 
tract and accepted the jewel, which she wore suspended 
about her neck until the night before her execution. The 
contract was consigned to the care of the French ambas- 
sador and after that, letters and tokens were frequently 
exchanged between the newly plighted couple. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

[A. D. 1569.] The contract between Mary and the 
Duke of Norfolk was executed without the knowledge of 
the English lords who had proposed the marriage, and 
this was rash and unwise. One of the principal agents 
employed in carrying letters and presents back and forth 
was Mr. Cavendish, or, as he was commonly called, Can- 
dish, a relative of Lady Shrewsbury's third husband. Not 
wishing to incur any risk for himself, the Earl of Shrews- 
bury thought proper to put a stop to his frequent visits 
to Wingfield Manor unless he was provided with a letter 
or warrant from Queen Elizabeth or her council. He 
therefore wrote on the subject to her majesty, who replied : 
"I approve of your preciseness in regard to Candish, but 
I am content that he should be used as before," thus inti- 
mating that he was employed in her service and playing a 
double game. She had previously expressed surprise and 
displeasure on learning that visitors had been admitted to 
the Queen of Scots, whose presence-chamber had become 
the resort of the aristocracy and gentry of all the neigh- 
boring districts. Among these was a relation of the Earl 
of Shrewsbury, a Roman Catholic named Leonard Dacre, 
generally called " Dacre with the crooked back," because 
he was deformed. 

One day, when the captive queen was taking her walk 
on the leads of Wingfield Manor House, Leonard Dacre 
joined her, and, speaking in an undertone, assured her of 
his devotion to her service, and offered to assist her in 

397 



398 Mary Stuart. 

making her escape, not only from her prison, but from 
England, if she would confide herself to his direction. 
He explained his plan, which had been arranged with the 
Earl of Northumberland and others, and said that, in con- 
sequence of his intimacy with the Earl of Shrewsbury's 
family, he had been able to win over certain of the ser- 
vants, so that he could get her out of the house, with one 
of her ladies, without difficulty, and that horses were 
already provided. The Earl of Northumberland had 
promised, also, that twenty of his household band, with 
a relay of twenty spare horses, swift and sure, should be 
privately sent to a secret place of rendezvous, where they 
would meet her if she had sufficient courage to undertake 
the venture. She was to escape in the dress of one of 
her ladies, who was to remain in her place, and personate 
her in order to delay pursuit. 

The time was most favorable, for the Earl of Shrews- 
bury had become paralyzed after an attack of inflamma- 
tion of the brain, and his countess, after waiting more 
than a month for .permission from Elizabeth to remove 
him to the baths of Buxton, at last became reckless of 
everything but the distressing state of his health, and 
carried him off before the arrival of a deputy jailer to 
take his place. Had Mary displayed the same amount of 
pluck now as she did at Lochleven, success would have 
been certain ; but she hesitated on account of a romantic 
notion of the duty and obedience to which she considered 
her affianced husband entitled. Therefore she would not 
give a decided answer until she had consulted him. Nor- 
folk, suspecting that Dacre was deceiving the queen, re- 
plied that he could by no means approve of her escape, 
as he believed Leonard Dacre's purpose was to carry her 
out of the realm in order to deliver her to the Duke of 
Alva in Flanders, or to the King of Spain, in which case 



iS^g- Mary Stuart. 399 

her marriage with Don John of Austria would follow as a 
matter of course. Mary suffered herself to be influenced 
by his decision, and so declined Dacre's tempting offer. 
She knew that the extreme Roman Catholic party, whose 
instrument Dacre was, secretly opposed her marriage with 
Norfolk, and that, if she permitted herself to fall into 
their hands, she would have to resign him, and adopt the 
extreme measures which the re-establishment of their 
religion would prescribe. 

At this time Captain Philip Stirley, a chosen spy in the 
service of Queen Elizabeth, arrived at Wingfield, and so 
wormed himself into the confidence of Mary's friends in 
the neighborhood, that he found out all about the enter- 
prise for her deliverance, and the assistance the Earl of 
Westmoreland was ready to offer. 

Mary's party continued to increase in England, where 
she had become an object of general sympathy and pop- 
ular interest. An overpowering majority in the privy 
council compelled Elizabeth not only to allow Mary's 
deputy, Lord Boyd, to proceed to Scotland, but to make 
him the bearer of letters from herself to the Regent 
Moray and his council, containing the following propo- 
sitions : — 

" First, that they should restore Queen Mary to her royal 
estate, or associate her in the sovereignty with her son, 
the administration to remain with the Earl of Moray till 
the prince completed his seventeenth year ; or that Mary 
might return to Scotland to live as a private person, with 
honorable treatment and a suitable allowance." There 
was too perfect an understanding between Elizabeth and 
the regent for her not to feel sure that every one of these 
conditions would be rejected by the party to whom she 
pretended to dictate them. 

Lord Boyd was accompanied back to Scotland by John 



400 Mary Stuart. 

Wood, who affected great friendship for Mary, With his 
usual duplicity, the regent advocated the propriety of 
agreeing to the treaty brought by Boyd for the queen's 
restoration, but he secretly exerted his influence to have 
it negatived by his confederates in the convention. Nev- 
ertheless, two-thirds of the nobles of Scotland were on 
Mary's side, and a section of the other party was ready 
to join them. Many of the great nobles of England had 
sent letters to Moray by his secretary, Wood, assuring 
him of their affection for his sister, and urging him to 
render himself the instrument of her restoration to the 
throne of Scotland if he would escape the ruin that 
threatened her enemies. 

Elizabeth, fancying that she had cause to suspect Moray 
of favoring the marriage of ]\Iary with the Duke of Nor- 
folk, made Cecil write to her ambassador, Drury, to express 
her surprise and displeasure. The traitor's real intentions 
were soon explained, and he hastened to assure the angry 
sovereign that his professions of friendship for the duke 
were insincere. She sent for Norfolk and upbraided him 
with seeking to marry the Queen of Scots without her 
leave. With the lack of moral courage which usually 
marked his conduct, he denied the charge, protested that 
he had no affection for the Queen of Scots, nor any desire 
of making her his wife. He also spoke with contempt 
of the poverty of her realm, and boasted of his own wealth 
and possessions, observing : " My own estates in England 
are worth little less than the whole of Scotland; marry, 
when I am in mine own bowling-alley at Norwich, I feel 
myself no whit inferior to a prince." It would have been 
wiser if he had made an honest statement of the facts, 
particularly as Leicester, who had undertaken to do so, 
delayed under one pretence or another until the matter 
appeared mysterious. Elizabeth had, therefore, cause for 



1569- Mary Stitart. 401 

displeasure ; for the present she affected to believe Nor- 
folk's denial. 

When Leicester discovered that the Regent Moray had 
betrayed the secret of the engagement to Elizabeth, he 
feigned illness, and earnestly requested the honor of a 
private visit from his royal mistress, as he had something 
of great importance to communicate to her. She went to 
him, and as she sat by his bedside, he told her, with sighs 
and tears, that his illness proceeded from anxiety of mind, 
being conscious of having violated his duty to her by con- 
senting to an intrigue for a marriage between the Duke of 
Norfolk and the Queen of Scots, without her knowledge, 
for which he was deeply penitent, and implored her for- 
giveness. But he did not let her know that he had been 
requested by Norfolk and the associate nobles to commu- 
nicate the matter to her majesty. The Spanish ambassa- 
dor happened at this time to mention his master's suit, 
whereupon Elizabeth angrily exclaimed : " I would advise 
the Queen of Scots to bear her condition with less impa- 
tience, or she may chance to find some of- her friends 
shorter by a head." On this ominous hint, Norfolk and 
others of the great nobles who had espoused Mary's cause 
thought it prudent to retire from the court. 

Before his departure, however, Norfolk sent secretly to 
Mary's ambassador, Lesley, Bishop of Ross, to come and 
confer with him after supper at his house. Lesley was 
met by a gentleman in the duke's service, who conducted 
him by a private entrance into a gallery, where the duke 
met him and said that his servant, Robertson, had brought 
him a ring from the Queen of Scots without any letter 
or message, and he was greatly perplexed thereby. More- 
over, she had sent him, two or three days before, a cushion 
embroidered by herself, with the royal arms of Scotland, 
beneath which there was a hand holding a knife, and 



402 Mary Stuart. 

pruning a vine ; there was also a Latin motto. Lesley- 
deciphered it as applying to the queen's case, signifying 
that the vine was improved by the discipline to which it 
was subjected, as, in the language of Scripture, " faithful 
are the wounds of a friend." Her meaning in sending 
the ring, it was impossible for him to understand at the 
time. Soon after Lesley's return to his own lodgings, one 
of Mary's confidential servants arrived with a private 
message for the duke, to whose house Lesley took him 
immediately. The message was that when she might 
have been carried away by Leonard Dacre and his friends, 
it was not permitted, and now she was to be put into the 
hands of her enemies, the Earl of Huntingdon, who pre- 
tended a title to the crown of England, and Viscount 
Hereford, who had said one night at supper, at Wingfield, 
that the Duke of Norfolk would ere long be cut shorter, 
and frustrated of his enterprise, which was, as he had 
been informed, to carry the Queen of Scots away with the 
aid of ten thousand men. 

The next day, September 21, Mary was removed under 
a strong military guard back to Tutbury, where the Earl 
of Huntingdon had already arrived with a warrant to 
supersede the Earl of Shrewsbury as her jailer. In obedi- 
ence to a positive order from Queen Elizabeth, these two 
earls entered Mary's apartments, and ransacked all her 
desks, drawers, and boxes, in search of letters from Nor- 
folk, the Earls of Arundel, Pembroke, and other English 
nobles ; but they failed to find any. 

The Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury were so dis- 
pleased at the constraint Huntingdon's presence imposed 
on them, that they began to take sides with Mar}', and 
certainly helped her to send and receive letters. Thus 
she was able to communicate with the French ambassador, 
which she did in cipher, as follows : " I know not whether 



1569- Mary Stuart. 403 

you are aware how uncivilly I have been treated, my 
desks and coffers ransacked, my servants menaced and 
driven away, and myself forbidden to write or receive 
letters. I am here at Tutbury in charge of Lord Hunt- 
ingdon, from whom I have great fears for my life ; I pray 
you, therefore, to consult with those whom you know to 
be my friends, and tell the Queen of England that if any 
harm befalls me, being in the hands of those who are 
suspected of wishing me ill, that she will be reputed by 
the king, my brother-in-law, and all other princes, the 
cause of my death. Use your own discretion in advertis- 
ing the Duke of Norfolk, and warn him to take care of 
himself, for he is threatened with the Tower. 

" Communicate with the Bishop of Ross, for I do not 
know whether he is aware of it. I have sent four of my 
servants to him, but fear they have not succeeded, for 
Borthwick was stopped and searched, but he had hidden 
his letters by the way, and I have found means of having 
them withdrawn. I have written to the King and Queen- 
Mother of France, and have sent the packet for you to 
deliver, I beseech you also to move the ambassador of 
the King of Spain to plead in my behalf, for my life is in 
danger here. I pray you to encourage and advise my 
friends to hold themselves prepared, and to do for me 
now or never. Keep this letter secret, that no one know 
of it, or I shall be more strictly guarded. If I remain 
longer here, I shall lose not only my kingdom but my 
life, but, worst of all, the means of helping my faithful 
subjects. Since I began this, Huntingdon has returned 
with absolute charge of me given to him by Queen Eliza- 
beth. I pray you to represent the injustice and violation 
of the laws of the country in putting me into the hands of 
one who makes the same pretensions to the crown that I 
do. You are aware also of the difference in our faith." 



404 Mary Stuart. 

Most of Mary's correspondence was carried on by 
means of the two or three ships which Shrewsbury and his 
money-making countess had plying between the different 
ports of England to dispose of the rich mineral products 
of their estates. 

Mary made another appeal to Elizabeth, but it was of 
no avail ; and the Duke of Norfolk had neither the cour- 
age nor the decision to insure success. He wrote an 
apology to the queen for not attending her at Windsor, as 
she had commanded ; thereupon, she sent an order for 
him to do so at once. He pleaded illness as an excuse, 
and sent to ask Cecil whether he would incur any risk by 
obeying. Cecil assured him that he would not, and ad- 
vised him not to delay. Thus encouraged, he began his 
journey, though faithful friends tried to detain him, and 
on reaching Burnham he was arrested. He now reaped 
the bitter fruit of his own vacillating conduct, and of suf- 
fering himself to be lured into a series of intrigues by 
Moray, who took every pains to cast suspicion upon his 
actions. Elizabeth's council expressed it as their opinion 
that he had not done anything for which the law could 
inflict a severe penalty. " Away ! " exclaimed her majesty, 
" what the law cannot do, my authority shall effect." And 
her excitement was so great that she fainted, and restora- 
tives had to be applied in the council-chamber. 

Several other noblemen were arrested, and closely ques- 
tioned ; but all agreed in exonerating Mary from any 
desire to stir up sedition against the Queen of England. 
When the Bishop of Ross was interrogated by Cecil and 
others, he boldly replied, " Ye know well that the project 
of this marriage originated neither with the Queen of Scots, 
my sovereign, nor with me, but was presented both to her 
majesty and to me by the principal lords of the council 
and of the realm of England." 



1569- Mary Stuart. 405 

When Mary heard of Norfolk's arrest, she was dread- 
fully distressed, and managed to convey a letter to him 
expressing her sorrow, the more so, she said, because it 
was in her cause. She added that she was in hopes of 
effecting her escape, and that if he could get out of the 
Tower she would risk it ; otherwise, not, for she would 
not leave him in danger, even to save her own life. He 
replied, dissuading her from making the attempt, and 
warning her that the friends on whom she relied might, in 
spite of their fair promises, leave her in the lurch when 
the time of peril came. 

Several of Mary's letters were smuggled into the 
Tower in ale bottles, the corks of those that contained 
them being marked with a minute cross ; and the 
answers were returned in the same way. They were 
all in cipher ; and the correspondence was carried on 
through the agency of Cuthbert, secretary to the Bishop 
of Ross, a tall countryman, a servant of Sir Henry 
Neville, the jailer's maid, and one or two other female 
servants in the Tower. 

The dangerous situation in which Mary was at this 
period is apparent by the reply of the Spanish ambassador, 
when the Earl of Northumberland confided to him his 
intention to take her out of prison by force. " I cannot 
advise such a thing," he said, " for it would surely cause 
her instantly to be put to death." The only hope, there- 
fore, was in a stratagem ; and the Countess of Northumber- 
land thought out one or two, but they were found to be 
impracticable. 

Soon after Norfolk's arrest, a meeting of Mary's friends 
took place near the estate of the Earl of Northumberland 
to consider what course to adopt. Norfolk had sent them 
word on no account to rise in his defence, or he would 
lose his head. It would have been well had the prisoner 



4o6 Mary Stuart. 

been obeyed ; but the Countess of Westmoreland, Nor- 
folk's sister, begged that the rising might not be aban- 
doned, and in an agony of grief exclaimed, " We and our 
country be shamed forever ! " This passionate reproach 
induced her lord and others to persevere in their fatal 
course. Their aim was to get possession of the person 
of Mary ; but she did her utmost to dissuade them from 
such an undertaking, for she feared that the life of Norfolk 
would be endangered thereby, and her own condition 
aggravated. 

On the 14th of November, the Earls of Northumberland 
and Westmoreland raised their standard of insurrection, 
and, supported by a wild muster of the Catholic popula- 
tion, advanced towards Tutbury. Shrewsbury at once 
informed Cecil of this ; but before his messenger could 
have reached London, he and Huntingdon received a war- 
rant to remove the Scottish Queen to Coventry, under a 
strong guard, and lodge her in the castle there. 

No time was allowed for preparation of any sort. The 
journey was begun on the 24th, the very day the order was 
received. But on their arrival at Coventry, the castle 
was found to be in such a ruinous condition, and so totally 
destitute of furniture that it was impossible to lodge their 
illustrious prisoner there ; and the two earls took her to 
the Black Bull Inn, where she was safely guarded until 
further instructions could be obtained. In reply to their 
letters, Elizabeth wrote angrily, and, after taking them 
severely to task for placing Mary in so public a place, 
directed them to remove her to the Grayfriars, or some 
other convenient house, but not, on any account, to take 
her nearer to London. The Countess of Shrewsbury, who 
had accompanied her lord to Coventry, wrote on the 9th 
of December to Cecil to certify that the removal of the 
Queen of Scots from Black Bull Inn to a house in Coven- 



^569. Majy Stuart. 407 

try had been accomplished, and all possible measures 
taken for her safe and sure keeping. 

Mary's new prison was an antique mansion, adjoining 
St. Mary's Hall. Her bed-chamber connected with those 
of her ladies ; and a small private staircase led to the 
hall where the prisoner took her walks, the only exercise 
allowed to her. She was always attended by her keepers, 
and all communication with strangers was strictly prohib- 
ited. She had twenty-five of her Scotch and French 
servants in attendance, besides her cook, butlers, and 
other officers of the kitchen. In spite of the vigilance of 
her jailers, however, Mary contrived to continue her cor- 
respondence with Norfolk in the Tower of London, and 
with the friendly French ambassador. 

At Coventry she spent her twenty-seventh birthday and 
a most melancholy Christmas. Meanwhile, the ill judged 
northern rebellion was risked, which ended in the exile or 
execution of some of Mary's warmest friends in England, 
discouraged others, and placed her own life in jeopardy. 
Indeed, a warrant for putting her to death was actually, 
prepared by Elizabeth's ministers, and sanctioned by her 
majesty's Great Seal ; but, in order to spare herself the 
odium of shedding the blood of an anointed sovereign, a 
more convenient method was resorted to. 

The Regent Moray had proposed that Mary be sent 
back to Scotland ; and Elizabeth now informed him that, 
if he would come himself to Hull to receive her, she 
would be brought there, and delivered into his hands. 
This, however, he dared not do ; for the populace would 
have torn him limb from limb if he had brought their 
beloved queen back in the manner proposed. He there- 
fore stipulated for her to be consigned to his tender mer- 
cies by an English army, whose support he needed 
badly. 



4o8 Mary Stuart. 

[A.D. 1570.] The arrival of a packet of letters for the 
Queen of Scots, some of which her keepers wrote Cecil 
they could not read, being in cipher, was the signal for 
her immediate removal back to her old prison at Tutbury. 
She reached this place on the 2d of January, without 
any attempt at rescue having been made on the road. 
Before the close of the month, Moray was assassinated at 
Linlithgow. 

Mary shed tears when she received the news of her 
brother's tragic fate, and, forgetting for the moment his 
treachery and ingratitude, expressed her sorrow at his 
untimely end, and said, " I wish he might have been 
spared for repentance and acknowledgment of his faults." 
Now, nothing but her detention in an English prison pre- 
vented her restoration to her throne. Elizabeth knew 
this perfectly well, and, when the King of France sent his 
ambassador to comfort Mary, and to proceed to Scotland, 
for the purpose of making an amicable treaty with the 
rebel lords for her restoration, he was not permitted to 
see her. 
^^ As soon as Moray's death transpired, the Due de 
Chatelherault, with the Earls of Huntley and Argyll, 
marched under their queen's banner to Edinburgh, where 
Kirkaldy of Grange, the governor of the castle, eager to 
atone for his former treason, received them as friends. 
Others crossed the border in hostile array, but did not 
proceed far enough to join Leonard Dacre, who had 
begun a fresh insurrection at the head of three thousand 
men. Had they done so, he might have succeeded ; but 
as it was, he barely escaped with his life to Scotland. 

Meanwhile, several attempts were made to rescue the 
queen ; and two gentlemen of Lancashire long kept a 
ship at Liverpool ready to carry her to France or Flan- 
ders, if only she could be got out of prison. But she 



1570- Mary Stuart. 409 

invariably consulted Norfolk, who, fearing for his own 
head, selfishly represented the great risk she would incur, 
and his extreme doubt of her being able to quit England 
alive, always adding that, if she would be quiet and con- 
tent where she was for a year or two, he doubted not God 
would put it into his sovereign's head to deal with her in 
such manner as would content her and her friends. One 
reason for opposing Mary's chances of rescue was his 
jealous fear lest she should be carried off by the Roman 
Catholic party, and married to Don John of Austria, or 
to one of the French princes. 

A convention of nobles was held at Dalkeith, when 
Argyll and Boyd proposed that their queen should be 
brought back to reign in Scotland ; and this would cer- 
tainly have been carried into effect had not Elizabeth sent 
Sussex, at the head of seven thousand choice troops, to 
the loyal districts of Scotland, to compel Mary's adhe- 
rents to submit to the authority of the traitors in power. 
This invading force mercilessly laid more than five hun- 
dred villages in ashes, besides the castles of the nobles, 
and brought in the Earl of Lennox, whom it was the 
pleasure of Queen Elizabeth to appoint as regent. The 
French ambassador, Fenelon, took the liberty of repre- 
senting to her, in his sovereign's name, the wrong she had 
committed in attacking Queen Mary's friends in Scotland, 
whereupon she disclaimed having given any such instruc- 
tions, and wrote to Sussex, lamenting that he had gone so 
far. The English army was now recalled, and the Bishop 
of Ross was again admitted to Elizabeth's presence ; but 
in reply to his petition, in the name of the Scottish nobles, 
for the return of their queen, Randolph was instructed to 
say that the queen, his mistress, was about to open nego- 
tiations for a general reconciliation. 

The Earl of Huntinsidon was discharged from his office 



4IO Mary Stuart. 

of jailer, and the sole charge of Mary was once more 
entrusted to the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury, who 
obtained permission to remove her to their stately castle 
of Chatsworth. Two plans were now formed, one by 
English gentlemen, the other by Italians, for effecting 
Mary's escape ; but, as usual, she would not budge with- 
out the approval of her lover. Meanwhile, he had been 
removed from the Tower to his own house in Norfolk, 
there to remain a state prisoner, in charge of Sir Henry 
Neville. He had purchased this favor by signing a bond, 
solemnly promising neither to marry the Queen of Scots, 
nor to concern himself in her affairs in the future, without 
the knowledge and consent of Elizabeth. This pledge he 
violated as soon as he had an opportunity to correspond 
with his lady love. 

In the month of July, Mary sent some beautiful speci- 
mens of her needlework to the English sovereign, which 
were graciously accepted, and very much admired. It 
was with this occupation that she spent many a weary 
hour of her prison life ; and her embroidery was both 
skilful and tasteful. 

Mary's cause was still so popular in Scotland that the 
majority of the nobles refused to obey Lennox, and sum- 
moned a Parliament to meet, in her name, at Linlithgow. 
Then Cecil and Sir Walter Mildmay were sent to Chats- 
worth by Elizabeth to negotiate personally with the cap- 
tive queen, who now met for the first time the premier 
she had so often denounced as the planner of her ruin. 
After presenting their credentials, they began to reproach 
Mary with ingratitude to their royal mistress. She burst 
into tears, and complained bitterly of the treatment she 
had endured, and the condition to which she was reduced. 
They blamed Norfolk ; but she defended his conduct and 
her own, and inveighed against the treacherous arts that 



157°. Maiy Stuart. 411 

had been practised by the Earl of Moray. As for the 
proposed treaty for her restoration to her throne, she 
said, " Everything depends on the Queen of England, 
whose power in Scotland is even greater than in her own 
realm." On being informed that she could not be liber- 
ated unless she would consent that Edinburgh and Dum- 
barton castles should be given up to an English garrison, 
she indignantly replied, " The Queen of England must 
then work her will on me ; for it shall never be said that 
I have brought that realm into bondage of which I am 
the native sovereign." 

The ministers had brought ten conditions for Mary to 
sign, the most important of which was that her son should 
be brought to England, there to remain as hostage for 
his royal mother. She replied that although the prince, 
her son, was the dearest thing she had on earth, yet, in 
consideration of the tender love borne to him by the 
Queen of England, she would consent, if he were allowed 
to be under the government of two or three lords or 
gentlemen of Scotland, one of them to be named by her- 
self, and the others according to the advice of the Earl of 
Lennox and the Earl of Mar. The bereaved mother then 
added the following request : " The Queen's Majesty of 
Scotland desires most earnestly that she may see her son, 
whom she hath not seen this long time, before her depar- 
ture from this realm." 

Matters progressed so favorably with regard to the 
treaty that Mary wrote affectionately to Elizabeth, ex- 
pressed her hope that her imprisonment might soon end, 
and repeated her request for a personal interview. But 
Elizabeth was not a whit more kindly disposed towards her 
than she had been on her arrival in England, and she had 
no thought of treating her either as a relation or a guest. 
She showed this very plainly in her answer to the French 



412 Mary Stuart. 

ambassador, who, in the name of his sovereign, urged 
Mary's restoration to her throne, " I am astonished," 
she replied, angrily, " that the King of France can take 
the cause of the Queen of Scots so much to heart without 
considering the great offences she has committed against 
me, first by claiming a right to my realm, then by stirring 
up my own subjects against me." She knew that the last 
charge was false, because all her prisoners had sworn, 
even on the scaffold, that the Queen of Scots had done 
all in her power to prevent the late insurrection. 

In the midst of the anxious negotiations which worried 
her, in the month of October, Mary had the misfortune to 
lose her faithful servant, John Beton, the master of her 
household, and one of the most active and useful of the 
true-hearted Scottish cavaliers who had forsaken their 
country to share her adversity and wait upon her, without 
pay, in her English prisons. She nursed and tended him 
in his last illness, and was one of the saddest mourners at 
his death-bed. 

Cecil and Mildmay remained nearly three weeks at 
Chatsworth, conferring almost daily with the royal pris- 
oner ; but nothing was settled, and it became clear, from 
a letter which the premier wrote to Shrewsbury, after 
his return to London, that there was not the slightest 
intention on his part of restoring Mary to liberty. 

The gentlemen of Derbyshire formed a confederacy for 
the liberation of the fair captive ; but their plan was 
imprudently confided by Mr. Rolleston to his son, one of 
Queen Elizabeth's band of pensioners, who denounced it. 
In consequence, although Mary was suffering from a 
dreadful attack of neuralgia, she was removed to Sheffield, 
and lodged in the manor house, situated nearly in the 
centre of a well wooded park, with long avenues of oak 
and walnut trees leading up to it. 




MARY IN PRISON. 



1 570. Mary Stuart. 415 

The sharp, bleak air of this new prison was very 
unfavorable to Mary's malady, and she grew so nvuch 
worse that she desired to prepare herself for death, and 
the Bishop of Ross was summoned to her bedside. He 
took with him from London two eminent physicians, 
whose skilful treatment effected her recovery. 

Of course Mary's sufferings were aggravated by the 
anxiety and care she had endured for many months, and 
this last attack seemed to have been caused by the intelli- 
gence she had received that Buchanan had been ap- 
pointed her son's tutor. She writes thus on the subject 
to Fene'lon : " Master George Buchanan, who troubled 
himself to write against me for the sake of pleasing the 
late Earl of Moray and other rebels, and who continues, 
by all possible means, to demonstrate his ill will towards 
me, has been placed with my son as his preceptor, which 
I cannot wish to be permitted, nor that my son should 
learn anything from his school. I pray you request the 
Queen of England to have another put in his place. The 
said Buchanan is old, and has more need of repose than 
to torment himself with a child." Her petition was un- 
availing, for Buchanan had purchased his appointment by 
his ability in defaming her character. 

Elizabeth's great object in pretending to arrange a 
treaty between Mary and her rebel lords was to get 
possession of the little prince. Mary said : " He is in 
the hands of my rebels ; it is useless to require him of 
me." And when Morton was pressed to give him up as 
a hostage for his royal mother's restoration to her realm, 
he declared that the matter would have to be submitted 
to Parliament, as he had no power to take so important a 
step, and he requested permission to return to Scotland 
for that purpose. But Mary objected seriously to this 
move, for she would not recognize the acts of a Parlia- 



4i6 Mary Stuart. 

ment convened by any other authority than her own, 
and, she wrote a spirited letter to Elizabeth on the 
subject. 

While the discussion was pending, Mary's cause re- 
ceived a fatal blow. The fortress of Dumbarton was 
surprised, and the brave gentlemen who had held it in 
her name for nearly four years were captured, excepting 
Lord Fleming, who scrambled down the rock, and 
escaped. Mary's secret correspondence with Lord 
Claud Hamilton and her other friends, informing them 
of aid promised by the Due d'Alva, now fell into the 
hands of Lennox, and, being sent to Cecil, furnished 
the first clew to the intrigues into which the captive 
queen had entered with the Spanish government when 
she despaired of aid from other quarters. There were 
letters of hers besides, in which she expressed her indig- 
nation at the hard treatment she had received in Eng- 
land. At the same time, the project for her escape from 
Sheffield, which was to have been attempted the ensuing 
Easter, was discovered, and the Earl of Shrewsbury 
removed her at once, in spite of her remonstrance, from 
the lodge in the park to the castle. 

Mary's distress was great, but it would have been still 
greater had she known of what had happened to the 
Bishop of Ross. His secretary, Bailly, who had been on 
a mission to Flanders, was arrested at Dover on his re- 
turn, and as he was the bearer of letters in cipher from 
the Due d'Alva to Queen Mary, the Duke of Norfolk, 
and the Spanish ambassador, he was carried to the Mar- 
shalsea for examination. Lord Burleigh, as Cecil must 
henceforth be styled (having been elevated to the peerage), 
could get no confession from Bailly, in spite of threats 
and promises ; but when the unfortunate man was taken 
to the Tower and put to the torture of the rack, he made 



1 57 1- Mary Stuart. 417 

such disclosures as led to the arrest of the Bishop of 
Ross. 

[A.D. 1571.] Mary did not hear of the fate of her 
minister for a long time ; but when the Earl of Shrews- 
bury imparted the news to her, she became indignant, and 
said that such a proceeding was a violation of interna- 
tional law, the persons of ambassadors being always re- 
garded as sacred. She wrote to Fenelon on this subject, 
and begged him to intercede for the bishop with Queen 
Elizabeth; and she sent a letter to Burleigh, asking him 
to inform her how he had offended her majesty to deserve 
imprisonment, for she could not understand the cause of 
it. On hearing that three hundred English soldiers had 
gone to Scotland to strengthen the rebel party, she sent 
another letter to the French ambassador, in which she 
said : " I am resolved to prefer the preservation of my 
kingdom to my life ; and I shall esteem my life well em- 
ployed if I preserve the crown from falling out of the line 
of descent. But I cannot continue much longer in my 
present state. I have been very ill for some days past, 
not so much from the weariness of my captivity and ill 
treatment as to see the gradual decay and destruction of 
my realm." 

In September the Earl of Lennox was killed, and the 
Earl of Mar, being in possession of Stirling Castle and 
the little prince, became regent. Thus, as Mary was 
locked up in an English prison, she lost another chance 
of resuming her crown. 

Queen Elizabeth next ordered Shrewsbury to discharge 
all of his prisoner's servants excepting sixteen, and as 
Mary loved them so much that she could not name those 
with whom she would be willing to part, her jailer took it 
upon himself to make the selection. This was a sad trial 
to the captive queen, who wrote thus to Fene'lon : " I 



41 8 Mary Stuart. 

could not select those that were to go, therefore Lord 
Shrewsbury did it ; but he has not retained the proper 
persons for the various ofhces necessary for my table, and 
wants them to perform duties which they do not under- 
stand, telling them that he will force them to serve. None 
of them will he permit to stir outside the gates of this 
castle. Behold the great cruelty with which I and my 
people are treated ! Every means of communicating with 
my realm are taken away, and it appears as if this stroke 
is to complete my ruin, I pray you to represent my case 
to your king, my good brother, for I have no means of 
writing to him, and can only do so to you with the great- 
est difficulty, to prepare you to look out for the poor peo- 
ple who are driven from me in a most destitute condition. 
If you could see the tears of my unfortunate servants 
who are being sent where they do not wish to go, you 
would pity them and me. I cannot feel more sorrow than 
I do. Certain Scots among them are forced to go to 
Scotland, where they dare not appear, particularly William 
Douglas and Archibald Beton, and two or three others, 
who would rather be slain here than hanged there. I 
implore you to see what you can do for them, and to try 
that I may have more than sixteen persons, which would 
leave me, not the retinue of a queen, but a prisoner. 
Remind them in what honor I was held in France, and 
that now, as neither my people nor myself are permitted 
to go out, a few more of the usual number might be 
allowed to remain. If you could obtain so much grace 
for the poor captive and her poor banished ones, it would 
be some solace." 

Mary suspected that the removal of her servants, some 
of whom were among the most tried and courageous of 
her household, was the prelude to her murder ; and with 
the idea that there was but a step between her and death, 



1 57 1- Mary Stuart. 421 

she addressed the following touching letter to the homeless 
destitute wanderers in a hostile land : " My faithful and 
good servants, seeing that it has been the will of God to 
visit me with much adversity, and now with this rigorous 
imprisonment and banishment of you from me, I render 
thanks to the same God who has given me strength and 
patience to endure it, and pray that he may give you the 
like grace, and that you will be consoled, since your ban- 
ishment is for the good service you have performed for 
me, your sovereign and mistress, for at least you will be 
greatly honored for having given such proof of your fidel- 
ity at such a time of need ; and when it shall please the 
good God to restore me to liberty, I shall never be want- 
ing to any of you, but will recompense you all according 
to my ability. For the present, I have written to my am- 
bassador for your sustenance, not having it in my power 
to do better for you. And now, at your departing, I charge 
you all, in the name of God, and for my blessing, that ye 
do not murmur against him for any affliction that may 
befall you, for thus he visits his own. I recommend you 
to the faith in which you all have been baptized in my 
presence ; and as you made no profession of service to 
any other princess than me alone, so I beseech you make 
confession with me of one God, one faith, one Catholic 
Church, as the greater number of you have already done. 
And especially you who have been newly recalled from 
your errors, seek to be more perfectly instructed and 
grounded in the faith, and pray God to give you con- 
stancy in the same. And for you, Master John Gordon 
and William Douglas, I implore God by his Holy Spirit to 
inspire your hearts with that in which I could not more 
prevail. Live in friendship and holy charity with one 
another ; and now, being separated from me, assist one 
another from the means and graces God has given you, 



422 Mary Stuart. 

and, above all, pray to God for me. Make my affection- 
ate commendations to the French ambassador in London, 
and describe to him the state I am in. In France, pre- 
sent my humble remembrances to all my uncles and 
friends, particularly to madame, my grandmother, whom I 
hope some of you will go to see for my sake. Entreat 
my uncles to make very urgent suit to the king, the queen, 
and monsieur, to aid my poor subjects in Scotland ; and, 
if I die here, to take my son and my friends into the 
same protection as myself, according to the ancient league 
of France and Scotland, Make my commendations to my 
Lords of Fleming and Glasgow, to George Douglas, and 
to all my good subjects. Tell them they are to be of good 
courage, and not to be paralyzed by my adversity ; and 
that each one must do the best he can to solicit of all the 
princes aid for our party, without regarding me, for I am 
content to bear all sorts of afflictions and sufferings, even 
unto death, for the liberty of my country. If I die, I shall 
only regret not having the means to recompense their 
services and the troubles they have endured in my quar- 
rel ; but I hope, if it should be so, that God will not leave 
them unrewarded, and will make my son and the Catholic 
princes, my friends and allies, take them under their 
protection, 

" If I have not been so good a mistress to you as your 
necessities required, the good will has never been wanting 
in me, but the means ; and if I have seemed sharp in my 
reproofs to any of you, God knows it has been with the 
intention of doing you good, not from any want of affec- 
tion. And you, William Douglas, be assured that the life 
you hazarded for mine will never be neglected while I 
have a friend living. 

" Do not part company till you are at the court of 
France, but go all together to seek my ambassador there, 



1 57 1- Mary Stuart. 423 

and declare to him all you have seen and heard of me and 
mine. 

" I pray God, from the depths of my afflicted heart, to 
be, according to his infinite mercy, the protector of my 
country, and of my faithful subjects, and that he will par- 
don those who have committed so many outrages against 
me, and move their hearts to a prompt penitence, and that 
he will give you all his grace, and to me also, that we 
may conform ourselves to his pleasure. 

" Your good and favorable mistress, Marie R." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

[A.D. 1 57 1.] After the departure of her servants, 
Mary waited several weeks before writing to Elizabeth, 
but she repeated the mistake she had so often made before 
of asking for favors while she made reproaches. This 
irritated Elizabeth's self-love, and increased her animosity 
to such a degree that the captive's position was far from 
improved. Indeed, she wrote to Fenelon in November: 
" My people are not allowed to approach the castle gates, 
and the Earl of Shrewsbury's servants are forbidden to 
speak to mine. I am shut up within my chamber, of 
which they even intend to block up the windows, and to 
make a door to give them power to enter when I am 
asleep, not allowing any of my people to come near me but 
footmen ; and I am deprived of the rest of my servants. 
This queen has made known to me that this usage will 
only end with my life, after having made me languish so 
cruelly. The Earl of Shrewsbury, as a great favor, took 
me on the leads of this house to get the air, and while I 
was there, he told me, in course of conversation, that I 
was going to be sent back, and put into the hands of my 
rebels. I have no means of making my determination 
known to the Earls of Mar and Morton, but I tell you 
frankly that I am resolved to die Queen of Scotland." 

This, besides many of Mary's letters, was intercepted 
and carried to Burleigh, who, after having them deciphered, 
showed them to Elizabeth. Thus it was discovered that, 
in spite of her being so carefully guarded, the prisoner 

424 



1 57 1- Mary Stuart. 425 

was in close correspondence with her minister and others. 
Lesley, Bishop of Ross, was lodged in the Tower, and 
subjected by the privy council to a close examination on 
the subject of her correspondence with Norfolk and the 
Due d'Alva. At first he assumed a lofty tone, and spoke 
of his duties as an ambassador, but on being threatened 
with the rack, he made some disclosures that told against 
both the duke and the imprisoned sovereign. 

It was an era of horror. A committee of the privy 
council attended day and night in the Tower for more than 
two weeks, to superintend the torturing of Norfolk's un- 
fortunate household. At last Sir Thomas Smith wrote to 
ask Burleigh to release him from the diabolical office of 
tormentor, and added : " I suppose we have got as 
much out of the prisoners as we can ; yet, to-morrow we 
intend to bring a couple more of them to the rack, not 
because we expect to get any news worthy of the pain, 
but because her majesty so earnestly commands it of us." 
At this time the Earl of Leicester told the French ambas- 
sador that it was not his sovereign's intention ever to 
restore the Queen of Scots to liberty, because she feared 
that by doing so she might endanger her own position. 

Poor Mary did not hear of this, but even if she had, 
she was too ill just then to pay much attention to such a 
cruel statement. Her physician was not permitted to see 
her until a warrant could be obtained from Burleigh, and 
even then there were no medicines in the castle, and none 
could be obtained nearer than London. He wrote to the 
premier for a supply, but no answer was returned, and his 
letter to the French ambassador was intercepted, and 
never delivered. So the illustrious patient continued to 
suffer until she became so alarmingly ill that her physician 
was forced to send a still more urgent appeal to Burleigh 
for remedies. But both the premier and the queen so 



426 Majy Stuart. 

earnestly desired the captive's death that they took no 
notice of the doctor's letter, and did nothing to ameliorate 
the invalid's condition. However, her capacity for endur- 
ing suffering was so great that she lived through the 
dreadful attack and recovered. 

[A.D. 1572.] On the 28th of December, Sir Ralph 
Sadler arrived at Sheffield Castle, to keep guard in the 
absence of the Earl of Shrewsbur}^, who was summoned 
to London to preside as lord high steward at the Duke 
of Norfolk's trial. This nobleman was found guilty of 
high treason and sentenced to death. The news was for- 
warded to Sadler, who requested the Countess of Shrews- 
bury to inform the queen. But it had already spread 
through the castle, and when the countess entered Mary's 
chamber, she found her weeping bitterly. " What ails 
your majesty .'' " she asked bluntly. "I know your lady- 
ship cannot be ignorant of the cause," sorrowfully replied 
Mary, " and how deeply I must be grieved at the misfor- 
tunes of my friends who fare the worse for my sake. 
But the Duke of Norfolk is unjustly condemned, for, as 
far as I can testify, he is a true subject of the queen, my 
sister." "If his offences had not been great," returned 
the countess, " and plainly proved against him, those 
noblemen who sat on his trial would not, for all the good 
on earth, have condemned him." Mary was too miserable 
to reply. 

It was very imprudent in the Queen of Scots to persist 
in keeping up her correspondence with her friends and 
allies, because so many of the letters fell into the hands 
of her enemies. Thus she injured her cause with her 
French kindred, to whom her correspondence with Alva 
and Philip II. was very offensive, and, knowing that such 
would be the case, the English ambassadors at Paris took 
good care that the letters should reach them. 



^57" Mary Sttiart. 427 

Norfolk was beheaded on the 2d of June, and a fort- 
night later, some English commissioners were sent to 
Sheffield to charge Mary with the following offences : 
"Assuming the arms and title of the Queen of England; 
treating for a marriage with Norfolk without informing 
Queen Elizabeth ; raising a rebellion in the north ; re- 
lieving notorious rebels in Scotland and Flanders ; seek- 
ing aid from the pope, the Spaniards, and others, in 
order to invade England ; and conspiring with English 
subjects to free her from prison, and declare her Queen 
of England." Mary answered these formidable articles 
calmly. " In regard to the assumption of the arms and 
title, I acknowledge that such claim was made for me by 
the French King, my father-in-law, during the life of my 
late husband, the King of France, but I was a minor at 
that time, and I have since always been ready and willing 
to renounce all claim to the crown of England during the 
life of Queen Elizabeth. My intended marriage with the 
Duke of Norfolk would have been no injury to the Queen 
of England, and as for moving him to escape, seeing his 
danger, for the good will I bore him, I desired him to be 
at liberty. I knew nothing of the rebellion in the north, 
but what my servants gave me to understand from com- 
mon report, and I had nothing whatever to do with it. 
Moreover, I offered before that rebellion, in my letters to 
the Queen of England, to communicate all I knew of any 
matters that might touch her majesty, if I might be per- 
mitted to come into her presence ; certainly, then, I ought 
not to bear the blame for the harm that was done. I con- 
fess that I have written to the Kings of Spain, of France, 
the pope, and others, for aid in restoring me to liberty and 
my country, as I have often warned your queen that I would 
do. I also acknowledge having listened to various projects 
for the recovery of my liberty, but I deny having originated 



428 Mary Stitart. 

any of the plans for that purpose. All I ask now is 
that I may be heard in my own defence by the Parliament 
of England, and in the presence of the queen, my good 
sister." 

Notes were taken in writing of these replies, but they 
were delivered verbally, and very much elaborated. 

Mary was still plunged in deep grief on account of the 
death of Norfolk, when news reached her that the Earl of 
Northumberland had been beheaded for high treason, 
without a trial. But her greatest misfortune was the part 
her kinsmen of the House of Guise played in the atrocious 
massacre of St. Bartholomew, which occurred in Paris on 
the 24th of August, two days after the execution of 
Northumberland. Of course, Mary, locked up in prison, 
could have had nothing to do with the terrible deeds of 
that day, but she was doomed to suffer the consequences 
in the loss of public favor, and Protestants who had sided 
with her now became alarmed at the prospect of a Catho- 
lic succeeding to the English throne. Their loyalty for 
Elizabeth strengthened in proportion with their antago- 
nism to her Roman Catholic rival. Burleigh took occa- 
sion to exhort his sovereign to provide for her own safety 
and that of her realm, by removing the Scottish Queen, — 
in other words, by cutting off her head. 

The opportunity was favorable, but Elizabeth shrank 
from shedding the blood of a royal relation on the scaffold. 
She preferred to hand her over to the Regent Mar and 
the rebel party of Scotland, to be dealt with as they 
thought proper. She therefore entered into a secret 
treaty for that purpose, and, after considerable discussion. 
Mar consented to become the executioner of Mary pro- 
viding she were sent back to Scotland ; otherwise, he feared 
to take the risk. Some of his friends thought that she 
could not safely be put to death without the sanction of 



1573- Mary Stuart. 431 

Parliament, but Elizabeth's envoy would not hear of such 
a thing as giving the victim a chance of rescue at the 
hands of her loyal nobles ; he preferred a method more 
secret and more certain. There was a conference at 
Stirling Castle, at which Mary Stuart's doom was sealed, 
but, after dining with Morton, the Earl of Mar was at- 
tacked with a sudden and mysterious disease, of which he 
expired two days later. 

Mary was thus rescued from a peril of which she knew 
nothing, and Morton became Regent of Scotland, with 
promises of support from Elizabeth. An attempt was made 
to renew negotiations with him for the murder of Queen 
Mary ; but he knew too well her standing with the popu- 
lace to consent. Though thrice ten thousand English 
spears were to cross the frontier to deliver her up to him- 
self and his traitor band, the gallant Scottish Border clans 
would rush to her rescue, or perish with her. Besides, 
Morton's share in Darnley's murder was too notorious for 
him to dare to provoke public inquiry by acting against 
the queen on that charge. It was far too dangerous an 
experiment ; and he preferred to let the Queen of England 
deal with her hated kinswoman. 

[A.D. 1573.] The surrender of Edinburgh Castle to the 
English forces was a terrible blow to Queen Mary's hopes ; 
for she had spent all the money she could raise for the 
support of the defenders of this royal fortress, which con- 
tained many of her most devoted friends. The regalia of 
Scotland and all Queen Mary's jewels, excepting those 
which Moray had sold to Queen Elizabeth or presented to 
his wife, were in the castle at the time of its surrender. 
Morton took possession of these in the name of the little 
king, but prudently sent several parcels to the English 
captor, Sir William Drury. 

Elizabeth commanded Drury to deliver his prisoners to 



432 Mary Stuart. 

the regent. Lethington ended his days by poison ; and 
Sir William Kirkaldy, of Grange, with his brother James, 
was hanged. When the Earl of Shrewsbury told Mary 
of the fall of her last stronghold in Scotland, and the 
tragic fate of its defenders, she was cut to the heart, and 
said in a bitter tone : " Ah, you are always a messenger 
of evil tidings, and you never bring me anything good. 
Alas ! I will never hear nor speak of Scotland more." 

At last, she became so ill with inflammation of the liver, 
and rheumatism in her right arm, that she petitioned for 
leave to go to Buxton Well for treatment. Elizabeth gave 
a reluctant consent, because the French ambassador added 
his entreaties to those of the captive queen, and Burleigh 
was ordered to write Shrewsbury to that effect. The 
journey was delayed until late in August, when the season 
for taking the baths had closed ; but both Mary and her 
companions needed the change too much to hesitate on 
that account. Escorted by Shrewsbury and a strong guard 
of soldiers, and accompanied by the countess and her 
daughter, Mary was taken to Buxton, and lodged in a 
pleasant mansion owned by her keeper. She was not 
allowed to stay long enough to derive much benefit from 
the waters, for she was at Chatsworth on the 27th of Sep- 
tember ; but she felt better for a time. In November, she 
was again imprisoned in the gloomy Sheffield Castle. 

[A.D. 1576.] It was a source of comfort to Mary when 
the French ambassador succeeded in obtaining a passport 
for Lusgerie, her old doctor, to visit her. Lusgerie had 
been attached to her service from her infancy ; he had 
attended her when she was Dauphiness and Queen of 
France, and he had accompanied her to Scotland, where 
he had witnessed her splendor, her misery, and her do- 
mestic troubles. He was shocked when he saw the situa- 
tion of his royal mistress and her faithful household band, 



1576. Mary Stuart. 433 

and declared that they were worse off than the state pris- 
oners of the Bastile. As for Nau, the new secretary, he 
was so dissatisfied with his gloomy abode that he thought 
seriously of making his escape, and wrote to the Bishop of 
Glasgow : " Were it not for the grateful regard I cherish 
for the memory of the late Cardinal de Lorraine, my good 
master, obliging me to devote my life to the service of 
those belonging to him, I should much desire to regain my 
liberty. As it was by your persuasion and advice I en- 
gaged myself here, I will leave it to you to extricate me, 
without vexing myself more about it." 

The French ambassador prevailed upon Elizabeth to 
allow Mary to visit Buxton Wells again, and she was con- 
ducted there early in June by the Earl of Shrewsbury and 
a strong guard of armed horsemen. She was accompanied 
by her faithful ladies and her physician, Lusgerie, who 
thought so highly of the waters that he had no doubt of 
being able to cure his patient if she used them in con- 
junction with his medicines. But scarcely was she quietly 
settled, and beginning to derive benefit from the change, 
than a peremptory order arrived from Queen Elizabeth to 
Shrewsbury to remove the Scottish Queen immediately to 
Tutbury Castle. Shrewsbury, being no more anxious than 
his prisoner to leave the delightful watering-place for 
gloomy Tutbury, returned such a list of objections that he 
received the following reply from the English minister : — 

" I have this day received your lordship's letter, and 
imparted to her majesty such reasons as you allege to show 
how unfit a place Tutbury is, as well for the safe custody 
of your charge as for the necessary provisions ; and she is 
now resolved that you conduct that queen back again 
from Buxton to your house in Shefiield." 

The command for Mary's removal was caused by Lei- 
cester's having announced that his physician had ordered 



434 Mary Stuart. 

him to Buxton for his health. Besides, several ladies of 
rank were going there ; and Elizabeth was as anxious to 
keep her prisoner from becoming acquainted with them 
as she was to prevent her master of the horse from seeing 
too much of her. 

Lusgerie tarried with his royal mistress at Sheffield 
only until the end of July ; for, being an old man, accus- 
tomed to the luxuries and privileges of a court physician, 
he could not stand the restraints of prison life. He left 
in his place a young apothecary, who had accompanied 
him from France, to prepare his prescriptions. 

[A.D. 1577.] In return for a pretty little box of sweet- 
meats and a beautiful head-dress which Mary sent to the 
Queen of England, she was permitted to repair to Buxton 
again in the latter part of May. Leicester met her there, 
his object being to find out whether the report of her 
secret engagement to Don John of Austria, which created 
uneasiness in the English Cabinet, was true. Finding it 
impossible to worm himself into her confidence, he re- 
turned in disgust ; and the captive queen was remanded 
back to Sheffield Castle. Then an Italian physician, an 
intimate friend of Leicester, and a notorious poisoner, 
was sent there on a private mission to Shrewsbury ; but 
whatever the purport of his visit may have been, certain it 
is that both the earl and his countess were incapable of 
conniving at any act to deprive Mary of her life. 

[A.D. 1578.] Early in the following spring, the very 
satisfactory news reached the captive queen that Morton 
had been deposed from the regency, and her little son, 
then not quite twelve years of age, had become King of 
Scotland in fact as well as in name. The Earl of Athol 
had effected this movement, because Morton was despised 
by the people ; and the majority of the lords were 
anxiously devising means to bring their queen home. 



1 578. Mary Stuart. 435 

But her satisfaction did not last long, because, by means 
of intrigues with the young Earl of Mar, who was hereditary 
governor of Stirling Castle, the subtle traitor Morton suc- 
ceeded in getting the fortress and the little king under 
his control again. Poor Mary could do nothing but weep 
and pray for her child's deliverance. It is true that she 
applied by letter to her uncle, Cardinal Guise, to raise 
funds for a scheme she had for getting her son away to 
France or Flanders ; but the sudden death of the Count- 
ess of Lennox at this juncture deprived Mary of her most 
powerful assistant in her efforts for this object. 

A severe illness which attacked Queen Elizabeth 
seemed likely to terminate in death, and raised Mary's 
hopes to the probability of her being summoned to the 
throne of England. At the same time, there was a 
scheme among the powerful Roman Catholic nobles of 
France to unite with Don John of Austria, and march 
with an overpowering army to England, for the purpose 
of proclaiming Mary queen. But Philip II. upset all the 
plans by poisoning his brother Don John, because he 
meditated laying claim himself to the crown of England, 
as legitimate heir of the House of Lancaster ; and he 
knew that if his brother should succeed in seating Mary 
Stuart on the throne, he would marry her, and so end his 
own chances. With Don John's untimely death expired 
Mary's last hope of restoration to freedom ; and Philip II. 
did her much injury by using her name and her wrongs 
as the watchword for exciting plots amongst the members 
of the church of Rome against Elizabeth's person and 
government. 

Mary experienced a fresh affliction this year in the 
death of her uncle. Cardinal de Guise, and shortly after, 
the Earl of Athol, who, from being one of her bitterest 
foes, had become a warm partisan, was poisoned at a 



436 Mary Stuart. 

banquet given by Morton. Athol's widowed countess, a 
lady of the highest rank and purest character, who had 
been in Queen Mar}''s train at the Holyrood ball, on the 
night of Darnley's murder, applied for permission to wait 
upon her former mistress in her dreary English prison. 
Queen Elizabeth refused then, and on several subsequent 
occasions when the petition was reiterated. 

Meanwhile, the Due d'Anjou, one of Queen Elizabeth's 
suitors, renewed his negotiations for wedlock ; and he 
sent such an agreeable envoy to plead his cause that, in 
order to please the French court, the sovereign granted 
sundry favors to her captive cousin. Among these was 
permission to send her French secretary, Nau, to Scot- 
land. He carried maternal greetings and letters to the 
little king ; also a vest, which Mary had embroidered with 
her own hands, and a locket, with a device composed by 
her, and executed by a French jeweller, in black enamel 
and gold. But, as she had simply addressed her letters, 
•'To my loving son, James, Prince of Scotland," her 
envoy was not allowed access to the presence of the boy 
monarch ; and he brought back so distressing an account 
of the restraints to which her son was subjected that 
Mary made an appeal to Queen Elizabeth, who, as usual, 
took no notice of it. 

An unexpected change took place in the young king's 
household, on the arrival of Esme Stuart, nephew of the 
late Earl of Lennox, who had been brought up in France. 
Having obtained letters of recommendation from various 
members of Queen Mary's party, this young nobleman 
succeeded in gaining access to Stirling Castle, where he 
formed a personal acquaintance with the boy sovereign, 
and soon won his love and confidence. He organized so 
strong a party in the palace and council that he was made 
Earl of Lennox. Under the influence of this cousin, 



'578. Mary Stuart. 437 

young James was induced to write a humble apology to his 
mother for not having been permitted to see her messen- 
ger, though he had received her presents, for which he 
returned thanks. 

This letter, the first he had ever written to his mother, 
contained nothing but expressions of love and duty, from 
a warm-hearted boy of thirteen to his only surviving parent, 
yet Elizabeth, into whose hands it unfortunately fell, was 
cruel enough to keep it from the bereaved mother, who, in 
her gloomy prison, was vainly sighing for one word of 
affection from her only child. It is impossible to conceive 
of a motive that would justify so heartless an action on the 
part of one woman towards another. 

Again did the English sovereign yield to the appeal of 
the French ambassador, made in the name of his king, for 
Mary to visit Buxton for the benefit of her health. An 
alarming accident befell her at the outset of her journey, 
which she thus described : " As ill luck would have it at 
Sheffield, those who were assisting me to mount my horse 
let me fall backwards on the steps of the door, from which 
I received so violent a blow on my spine that for some 
days past I have not been able to hold myself upright. I 
hope, however, with the good remedies I have employed, 
to be quite well before I leave this place." 

Her health did inprove rapidly at Buxton, but she was 
not allowed to stay there long, for at the expiration of 
three weeks, when she had only gone through half the 
course of baths and«drinking prescribed by the physicians, 
she was ordered back to Sheffield. This time Elizabeth 
feared intercourse with the ecclesiastics of the church of 
Rome, who secretly resorted to that secluded nook among 
the mountains. 

On the 31st of December Morton was denounced, when 
seated at the council board in the presence of the young 



438 Mary Stuart. 

King of Scotland, as Darnley's murderer, and cast into 
prison. Believing this to be a favorable moment for a 
grand stroke at her foes, Mary appointed her cousin, 
the Due de Guise, Lieutenant-General of Scotland, with 
power to open a treaty in her name with her son and the 
nobles of Scotland. This dangerous document was inter- 
cepted and carried to Burleigh, the result being a warrant 
for Mary's forcible removal to Ashby-de-la-Zouch, with a 
change in her jailers, the Earl of Huntingdon to be sub- 
stituted for the Earl of Shrewsbury. 

But this warrant was never acted upon, for Mary was 
just then too ill to undertake a long rough journey in the 
depth of winter ; and as it was represented to Elizabeth 
that her malady was likely to prove fatal, she agreed to 
take the chance of her dying quietly in her bed. She 
recovered, however, and a loving letter from her son, 
which accompanied a pretty present, went far towards 
cheering her sjoirits. Her feelings may be imagined when 
she learned that the young monarch, who had not com- 
pleted his fifteenth year, had performed the filial duty of an 
avenger, by ordering the execution of Morton. She now 
began to consider a project for associating herself with 
him in the government of Scotland, and wrote to inform 
Queen Elizabeth that such a proposition had been made 
to her by the young monarch, through the King of 
France. 

The talent James had manifested in freeing himself 
from Morton's influence, and bringing that traitor to the 
block, caused Elizabeth no little uneasiness when she con- 
sidered the prospect of his competing with her for the 
throne of England, so she sent Beale to Sheffield under 
pretext of opening a treaty with Mary for her restoration 
to liberty, but in reality to get what information he could 
about her correspondence and influence with her son and 



1583- Mary Stuart. 439 

the leading powers of Scotland. Beale was touched by 
the pitiable condition in which he found the once bright, 
beautiful, vivacious. Mary. She was confined to her bed 
with a fearful cough, and a pain in her side, unable to put 
her foot to the ground, and much depressed in spirits. 
The envoy wrote to advise Burleigh to send a coach to 
Sheffield for her use, with her majesty's permission for 
her to drive about the neighborhood under a strong 
guard. The great object of his mission was to dissuade 
Marv from resigning her title in favor of her son, and by 
flattering her with hopes of liberty he succeeded in ob- 
taining from her a conditional promise that she would 
enter into no treaty for that purpose without the consent 
of his sovereign. For this concession a few trifling in- 
dulgences were granted, and her health improved in con- 
sequence. 

[A.D. 1583.] Towards the end of the summer, Shrews- 
bury obtained leave to remove his prisoner to his manor 
of Worksop, in Nottinghamshire, for change of air. 

Meanwhile plots and rumors of plots were agitating 
England, Ireland, and Scotland. The King of Spain en- 
gaged to make a descent on England with a large army, 
at the same time that the Due de Guise should land in 
Scotland, to form a junction with the young king, whose 
loyal nobles had promised him twenty thousand men. 
They were all to cross the border, and be strengthened by 
a general uprising of Roman Catholics for the restoration 
of the captive queen. But this grand enterprise was dis- 
covered, and many of the loyal lords were arrested. 
Am.ong these were the Earl of Northumberland and his 
son, the Earl of Arundel, Lords William and Henry How- 
ard, and the two Throckmortons. Francis, the older one, 
was put to the torture, but revealed nothing until he was 
being bound to the rack the fourth time, when he gave 



440 Mary Stuart. 

the names of all the principal Catholics implicated in the 
intended rising, and the ports at which the landings were 
to be made. 

Suddenly, for some unaccountable reason, the Countess 
of Shrewsbury became an enemy to the Queen of Scots. 
Possibly she was anxious for her own little granddaughter 
to become heiress to the throne of England, and for this 
reason sought to depreciate Mary in public opinion. This 
child was Lady Arabella Stuart, the only representative of 
Darnley's brother, and the third in the line of succession, 
Mary Stuart and her son having the prior claims. So now 
this selfish, ambitious, worldly woman set herself out to 
blacken Mary's character in England. Besides, she quar- 
relled with her husband, began a lawsuit against him, left 
his house, and retired to Chatsworth, whence she wrote 
complaints of him to Queen Elizabeth and her ministers. 
Shrewsbury demanded permission to go to court for the 
purpose of justifying himself against the accusations of 
his malicious wife, but, as Elizabeth had not yet made up 
her mind with whom to entrust Mary in his stead, he was 
not allowed to stir from Sheffield. 

[A.D. 1584.] In the summer Mary was permitted to re- 
visit Buxton Wells, now more than ever necessary, for she 
had become a confirmed invalid ; and she remained there 
quietly for nearly three months, before she was ordered 
back to Sheffield. Then the custody of her person was 
traipsferred to Sir Ralph Sadler, Sir Henry Mildmay, and 
Mr. Somers, and the Earl of Shrewsbury was relieved of his 
unthankful office. When the new keepers presented them- 
selves, they merely said to Mary that they had been ap- 
pointed by Queen Elizabeth to take care of her during 
the absence of Shrewsbury, who was going up to court. 
Mary said politely : " I thank the queen, my good sister, 
that she has made choice of a former chancellor of my 



^S84' Mary StJiart. ^i 

acquaintance to attend me. I am glad to hear of her 
majesty's good health, and now that the Lord of Shrews- 
bury goeth up to her majesty, he can inform her of all my 
doings while I have been under his charge, and I require 
none other favor than that he say the worst of me he 
can." 

The next day Mary was removed from Sheffield to 
Wingfield Manor. As she rode along by the side of 
Somers she was so invigorated by the fresh morning air 
that she asked him playfully whether he thought she 
would escape from him if she could. He replied, " Yes, 
I believe you would, for it is natural for everything to 
seek liberty that is kept in subjection." " No, by my 
troth," returned Mary, "ye are deceived in me, for my 
heart is so great that I had rather die in this seat with 
honor, than run away with shame. But tell me, if I were 
granted my liberty, whither think you I would go?" "I 
think, madam, you would go to your own in Scotland, as 
is reasonable," replied Somers. " It is true," said she ; " I 
would go thither indeed, but only to see my son and to 
give him good advice. But unless her majesty would give 
me some maintenance in England I would go to France 
and live there among my friends on what little portion I 
have there, and never trouble myself with government 
again, nor dispose myself to marry any more, seeing I 
have a son ; nor would I tarry long, nor govern, where 
I have received so much ill treatment, for my heart could 
not abide to look on those who did me that evil." 

While at Wingfield, two hundred and twenty gentlemen, 
servants, and soldiers were employed to guard this one 
helpless woman. Every night a watch of several armed 
men was set within the house, the gentleman-porter being 
stationed with four or five soldiers at one ward and 
another party of soldiers at the other. Eight armed men 



442 Mary Stuart. 

perpetually paced outside the house, four of whom watched 
under the windows of the prisoner's apartments, and 
others were quartered at all the villages in the neighbor- 
hood. Her retinue had increased to the number of forty- 
eight, and included ten children belonging to married 
couples. 

De Pr^an, Mary's almoner, the physician, two secreta- 
ries, and the master of the household, dined together before 
the queen, and were allowed a mess of eight dishes, what 
was left over being for their servants. Sixteen dishes 
were allowed for the queen's dinner, nine for her ladies, 
and five for the serving-maids. Ten tuns of wine were 
consumed by the household in the course of a year. At 
this time, Mary had a coach and four good horses, besides 
six others for the gentlemen of her household. Fifteen 
chambers were occupied by herself and her attendants, 
but as two were appropriated to her own use, the others 
must have been quite crowded. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

[A.D. 1584.] The autumn proving an unusually wet, 
cheerless season this year, old Sir Ralph Sadler became 
such a sufferer from catarrh and rheumatism that he 
applied to be relieved of his office, but this did not suit 
her majesty, who instructed her cabinet to remove Mary 
and her train to Tutbury Castle. The decree went forth 
the first week in November, but the captive queen was so 
ill that Sir Ralph Sadler declared it would be impossible 
to remove her in such a condition to damp, dilapidated, 
poorly provided Tutbury. On the 4th of December, how- 
ever, he received a notice from Walsingham, one of Eliza- 
beth's cabinet ministers, that the prisoner was no longer 
to be allowed, under color of illness, to tarry, but that 
if she obeyed willingly, more favors would be extended 
towards her than before. 

Mary was not only incapable of the journey, but she 
"was unwilling to stir until the return of her secretary, 
Nau, who had gone on a mission to Queen Elizabeth. 
On the 29th of the month he made his appearance at 
Wingfield, with so many flattering messages and promises 
from that sovereign that Mary was encouraged with fresh 
hope, and, although still suffering great pain, and unable to 
stand or move without support, expressed her willingness 
to undertake the journey as soon as it should suit Sir 
Ralph. But now he, poor man, fell sick from the discom- 
forts he had endured, and begged piteously that he might 
be allowed to return to London. This was not granted, 

443 



444 Mary SUiart. 

because nobody could be found willing to fill his danger- 
ous and difficult post ; however, Elizabeth promised that 
he should be relieved as soon as he got Mary to Tutbury. 

[A.D. 1585.] The journey was accomplished at last, 
but Sadler found the new prison no improvement on the 
other, for it was cold and dilapidated, with little furniture 
and no comforts. There were few bed-covers, and only 
nine pairs of sheets for forty-eight people, including the 
queen. Sadler had to send to Coventry and other neigh- 
boring places for what was needed, but he found it no 
easy task to please the dissatisfied company. Mary wrote 
to Burleigh, complaining that the house was injurious to 
her health, especially at that season, because the boards 
was so imperfectly joined that it was impossible to keep 
warm. Little notice was taken of her letter, and a few 
days after her arrival, she became seriously ill again. 
Renee Rallay, the oldest lady in Queen Mary's house- 
hold, died this winter, and her loss was a severe blow to 
the captive, as she was the last surviving link that asso- 
ciated her with the bright days of her youth. Mile. 
Rallay had been with her before her marriage with the 
dauphin, and had shared her prison privations for more 
than sixteen years. 

The severest blow the Queen of Scots had ever received 
was dealt by her son, who, yielding to the influence of his 
ambassador, Gray, consented to form a treaty with Eliza- 
beth, by which his mother was excluded from the sover- 
eignty. At first she refused to believe that her son had 
acted of his own free will, and she wrote thus to the 
French ambassador: "I have just received from Somers 
a letter, said to be from my son, but so different from his 
former ones, and the duty and obligation he has promised 
me, that I cannot accept it for his own, but rather that of 
Gray, who thinks this letter a masterpiece to effect the 



1 5^5- Mary Stiiai't. 447 

entire separation of my son and me. Therefore I implore 
to request the Queen of England that I may speak to the 
justice-clerk, in order to ascertain from him the real truth 
* of my son's intentions." Twelve days of daily communi- 
cation on this painful subject with her English keepers, 
who represented it in their own way, at last convinced the 
royal mother that her boy had heartlessly abandoned her 
to life-long captivity, and meanly rendered himself the 
tool of her enemies. 

In her next letter to the ambassador, she enjoins him 
never, either in speaking or writing, to apply the title of 
king to her son, and she says : " Without him, I am, and 
shall be of right, as long as I live, his queen and sover- 
eign ; but he, independently of me, can only be Lord 
Darnley or Earl of Lennox, that being all he can pretend 
to through his father, whom I elevated from my subject to 
be my consort, never receiving anything from him. I de- 
sire not to govern Scotland, nor ever to set foot there 
again unless it were to visit him on my way to some other 
country. I neither want from him aid, pension, support, 
nor entertainment of any kind whatsoever, not having re- 
ceived a single penny from Scotland since I left it. I 
beseech you not to let any one convert me from a genuine 
sovereign queen into a queen-mother, for I do not ac- 
knowledge one ; failing our association, there is no King 
of Scotland, nor any queen but me." 

After frequent attempts towards obtaining his discharge 
from the ungracious office he had unwillingly filled. Sir 
Ralph Sadler succeeded, and he was replaced by Sir 
Amyas Paulet, a rigid Puritan, and a harsh, rude man. 
Mary conceived an antipathy for him at first sight, and he 
entered upon his office determined to render her captivity 
more intolerable than anything she had yet experienced. 
A few days after his arrival, he forbade her to perform 



44^ Mary Stuart. 

the little acts of charity to the neighboring poor, which 
had been a source of pleasure to her ; and when Burleigh 
wrote of a report that had reached London, of an attempt 
to effect the queen's escape, he replied : "If I should be 
violently attacked, rest assured that she shall die before 
me." Thus cheaply was the life of the hapless princess 
held by her foes. Towards the end of the year, she was 
again confined to her bed, with a severe attack of neural- 
gia accompanied by fever, and for several weeks she was 
utterly deprived of the use of her right hand and arm. 

Mary's illness did not prevent Paulet from announcing 
to her the dreadful news that the rebel lords who had 
been cherished in England had re-entered Scotland with 
a strong military force, surprised Stirling, and compelled 
the young king to surrender himself and his principal 
fortresses into their hands. The royal mother was beside 
herself with grief, the more profound because she was 
deprived of the means of rendering the slightest aid; but 
she entreated Chateauneuf, the new French ambassador, 
to remonstrate with Elizabeth on the encouragement she 
had given to the rebels. She also wrote bitterly about 
the dishonorable policy that sovereign had used, and the 
letter, being intercepted, only added to the rancor experi- 
enced towards herself. 

Towards Christmas, Queen Mary and her keeper were 
both so ill that Elizabeth ordered Chartley Castle, a feudal 
mansion belonging to the Earl of Essex, Leicester's step- 
son, to be prepared for their reception. Shortly after 
Mary's removal, a plot was formed for intercepting her 
letters, and for obtaining the key to the cipher she used, 
and it proved so successful that not only was she encour- 
aged to write freely, but the English ministers became 
aware of all her hopes, her reasons for complaint, and her 
opinion of their queen, which was certainly not flattering. 



^SH- Mary Stuart. 



449 



Thus they found out the facts connected with the Holy 
League which had been organized for the purpose of ex- 
cluding the Protestant heir of France, Henry of Navarre, 
from the royal succession of that reahn, placing a Roman 
Catholic sovereign on the English throne, restoring the 
authority of the pope in the British Isles, and suppressing 
Protestantism. The pope, the Due de Guise, and other 
leading men of the church of Rome, where members of 
this confederacy and Mary's wrongs were the watchword 
that animated them. 

The Queen of Scots had positively refused to join the 
Holy League, yet Elizabeth and her ministers came to 
the conclusion that her existence endangered the throne 
of England and the security of the Reformed Church, and 
her destruction was clamored for. A book was published 
to prove that it would be lawful to put her to death, and 
it was openly declared in Parliament that as she was the 
cause of all the dangerous conspiracies of the pope and 
others against the queen and her realm, it was expedient 
that she should be put out of the way. 

Shortly after this, came the discovery of the Babington 
plot, so called on account of the Roman Catholic gentleman, 
named Anthony Babington, who was at the head of it. The 
object was to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, and place Mary 
Stuart on the throne. But some of the men in whom he 
confided were in the service of the English cabinet min- 
isters, who were kept informed of every movement of the 
conspirators, and held themselves in readiness to pounce 
down upon them at a moment's notice. Mary knew noth- 
ing of the plot, but the secret-service men wrote letters in 
cipher, in her name, to make her appear guilty, because 
as yet no evidence had been found against her which 
would justify Elizabeth before the world in shedding her 
blood. So, secluded as they were in Chartley Castle^ 



450 Mary Stuart. 

neither Mary nor any of her train knew of the Babington 
plot, and whenever news of its progress or instructions of 
any kind were brought to Sir Amyas Paulet, he received 
them in an open field, a little distance off, to avcid listen- 
ers. 

[A.D. 1586.] On the 8th of August, Paulet invited his 
prisoner to take an airing with him on horseback. Mary 
was much pleased, because she was feeling better, and 
she eagerly accepted the opportunity to enjoy the warm 
summer weather. Accompanied by her two secretaries 
and others of her retinue, and under a stronger guard 
than usual, she rode from Chartley towards the neigh- 
boring park of Tixall, as her keeper directed. They had 
not advanced very far before they were met by a company 
of horsemen. Before Mary's astonishment found expres- 
sion in words, the leader. Sir Thomas Gorges, rode for- 
ward, and told her that, in consequence of the discovery 
of her share in a plot against the life of Queen Elizabeth, 
his orders were to conduct her to. Tixall. Mary indig- 
nantly denied the accusation, and declared she would not 
go with him ; then, turning to the gentlemen of her suite, 
she passionately exclaimed, " Will you suffer these traitors 
to lay hands on your queen, without interposing in her 
defence ?" While she spoke, her secretaries were arrested 
and hurried away, and she was led to the mansion of Sir 
Weaker Aston at Tixall, about three miles from Chartley. 
There she was separated from all her servants, and con- 
fined to two small rooms, without books, pens, ink, or pa- 
per, for seventeen days, in utter solitude. Paulet kept 
guard over her, while Elizabeth's commissioners pro- 
ceeded to Chartley, in obedience to their instructions, and 
seized her papers, ciphers, seals, and jewels. All the 
caskets belonging to the Queen of Scots were sent to 
Elizabeth, but they contained only a few rings, chains, and 



15S6. Mary Stuart. 451 

trinkets of little value, her own miniature on ivory, 
one of the Countess of Lennox, a little book with por- 
traits of Francis II. and his mother, and another contain- 
ing miniatures of herself, Darnley, and their son, 

Mary's papers were packed in boxes and forwarded to 
Elizabeth, and, as she eagerly examined the secret corre- 
spondence of her hated rival, it must have been annoying 
to find numerous letters from many of her own peers, filled 
with professions of esteem and respect, with offers of as- 
sistance for her hated rival. She made no public demon- 
strations of her displeasure, but she required the offending 
parties to feel the necessity of vindicating their loyalty, 
by acting as Mary's enemies in the proceedings that 
were to be taken against her. It is a striking fact, how- 
ever, that in all the voluminous mass of papers thus sud- 
denly seized, not one was produced in evidence against 
Mary, 

On the 25th of August, Sir Amyas Paulet took the cap- 
tive queen back to Chartley, without having spoken a 
word to her throughout her absence. When she was 
about to enter her coach, and saw Sir Walter Aston and 
other gentlemen in waiting to escort her, she exclaimed, 
with tears rolling down her cheeks : " Good gentlemen, I 
am innocent, God is my witness that I have never prac- 
tised against the queen, my sister's, life ! " The poor, who 
had been accustomed to share her charity, crowded around 
her as usual, but she said to them : "Alas ! I have noth- 
ing for you. All has been taken from me ; I am as much 
a beggar as yourselves," 

When, on entering her apartments at Chartley Castle, 
Mary saw that her coffers and desks had been ransacked, 
and her papers and jewels taken away, she exclaimed : 
" There are two things of which I cannot be robbed, my 
English blood and my Catholic faith, in which, by the 



452 Mary Stuart. 

grace of God, I intend to die." As soon as matters were 
brought to the proper pass for Mary's destruction, it was 
proposed that she should be removed to the Tower, but, 
suspecting that she liad a strong party in London who 
would not permit this, Elizabeth appointed Fotheringay 
Castle, Northamptonshire, for the arraignment and execu- 
tion of her victim. 

On quitting Chartley, Mary was separated from many 
of her faithful servants, both French and Scotch, who had 
forsaken country, friends, and living to become the volun- 
tary companions of her privations in exile. Early in the 
following month, a commission, comprising forty-six peers, 
councillors, judges, and lawyers, was appointed by Queen 
Elizabeth, to form a court for the purpose of inquiring 
into the offences committed by Mary, Queen of Scots. 
The French ambassador demanded in the name of the 
king, his master, that she be allowed counsel, and all 
things necessary for her defence ; but, after two days' 
delay, he was told, in the name of Elizabeth, that the 
Queen's majesty wanted no advice, and that she did not 
believe he had received orders from his master to school 
her, and that the civil law considered persons in the situa- 
tion of the Scottish Queen unworthy of counsel. 

Out of the number appointed, only thirty-four of the 
commissioners could be induced to act, and these arrived 
at Fotheringay Castle on the nth of October accom- 
panied by Edward Barker, the queen's notary, and Sir 
Amyas Paulet, the harsh jailer, who was now selected to 
pass judgment on the defenceless captive. 

Mary was too ill to rise from her bed, and Sir Walter 
Mildmay, chancellor of the exchequer, and Barker, the 
notary, were introduced into her room to deliver Queen 
Elizabeth's letter, which announced the business on which 
they had come, and required her answer. 



1586. 3Iaiy Stuart. 453 

After quietly reading the letter, Mary observed : " I am 
sorry the queen, my sister, is so ill informed of me ; I 
have many enemies about her majesty's person ; witness 
the long captivity in which I have been suffered to lan- 
guish, till I have nearly lost the use of my limbs. Many 
other injuries I might mention, such as the secret league 
entered into with my son, while all my good offers have 
been neglected and treated with contempt. The act that 
has lately been passed warns me that I am to be made ac- 
countable for whatever attempts have been made against 
the queen, my sister, whether by foreign princes, her own 
dissatisfied subjects, or for matters of religion. As to the 
accusation to which I am now required to answer, her 
majesty's letter is written after a strange fashion, and, as 
it seems to me, in manner of command. Does not your 
mistress know that I am a queen by birth .? Or thinks she 
that I will so far prejudice my rank and state, the blood 
whereof I am descended, the son who is to succeed me, 
and the majesty of other princes, as to yield obedience to 
her commands? My mind is not yet so far dejected, 
neither will I sink nor faint under this, mine adversity. 
The laws of England are to me unknown. I am destitute 
of counsellors, and who shall be my peers, I cannot tell. 
My papers and notes are taken from me, and no man in 
this realm dares to pronounce me innocent. I am clear 
from any act to hurt your queen ; and no word or writing 
of mine could convict me ; but I frankly confess that when 
she rejected every offer I made, I commended my cause 
to foreign princes." 

The next day two deputations of the commissioners 
waited upon Mary to induce her to appear for trial, and 
Burleigh even went so far as to threaten, if she refused, to 
proceed against her in her absence. To this she indig- 
nantly replied : " I would rather die a thousand deaths 



454 Mary Stuart. 

than acknowledge myself subject to the authority of the 
Queen of England. Nevertheless, I am willing to answer 
all things that may be objected against me, before a free 
Parliament. As for this assembly, it may be, for aught I 
know, devised against me to give some color of a legal 
proceeding, though I be prejudged, and condemned to die ; 
yet I adjure you to look to your consciences, for remember 
the theatre of the world is wider than the realm of England. 
It is plain to me by the terms of the commission that I am 
prejudged guilty, therefore it is useless for me to appear. 
But there is a passage in your sovereign's letter which I 
do not quite comprehend : she says that I am living in this 
country under her majesty's protection ; I pray you ex- 
plain that to me." As this was a difficult matter for them 
to solve, the lord chancellor envaded it thus : " The 
meaning is plain enough, but it is not for subjects to inter- 
pret the letters of their sovereigns ; neither have we come 
for that purpose, but to try the cause." " By what author- 
ity do you proceed .'' " she asked. " By the authority of 
our commission, and the common law of England," was 
the reply. " But you make laws at your pleasure," re- 
turned Mary, " and there is no reason why I should submit 
to them ; if you proceed by the common law of England, 
you must produce precedents of like cases, for that law 
dependeth much on cases and customs." Finding them- 
selves baffled by the sharp rejoinders of the lovely captive, 
the commissioners asked again whether she meant to ap- 
pear for trial or no. She declared that she did not, but 
the next day, when Hatton persuaded her, and artfully de- 
clared, "If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear; 
but by avoiding a trial, you stain your reputation with an 
eternal blot," she yielded. This was not because she was 
intimidated by threats or by the harsh letter which had just 
reached her from Elizabeth, but her desire to clear her 



I5S6. Mary Stuart. 455 

character from the evil imputations of her foes was the 
motive that prompted her. 

Early on the morning of the 14th, Mary signified her in- 
tention to appear before the commissioners. The great 
hall was accordingly prepared for that purpose with a dais, 
canopy, and chair of state, surmounted with the arms of 
England, after the manner of a throne, to indicate the 
place and authority of Queen Elizabeth. Directly oppo- 
site, at the foot of the table, a chair, covered with crimson 
velvet, was set for Queen Mary. The officers of the 
crown, with their clerks, were seated around the table, 
while the lord chancellor, Bromley, Lord Burleigh, and 
the other peers occupied stools and benches. Privy 
councillors and judges occupied seats according to their 
degree. 

At the early hour of nine in the morning, Mary entered 
the hall, passing through a double line of armed men, who 
formed a lane from her chamber door. She was dressed 
in a black velvet robe, with a long white lawn veil thrown 
over her pointed widow's cap and descending to the 
ground. Her train was borne by one of her ladies, and 
she was followed by three others, one of whom carried a 
cushion for her feet. She was so weak from her frequent 
attacks of illness that she walked with difficulty, leaning 
for support on the arm of her physician, Bourgoigne, and 
assisted on the other side by Sir Andrew Melville, her faith- 
ful master of the household, who conducted her feeble 
steps and led her to the chair that had been provided for 
her. But, before accepting it, she paused in surprise, and 
said proudly : " I am a queen by birth and have been 
consort of a king of France ; my place should be there," 
pointing to the vacant seat beneath the canopy. No reply 
was made, and, after bowing with dignity to the hostile 
assembly, she sank into her place. Her composure and 



45 6 Mary Stuart. 

self-possession astonished the English nobles ; but beneath 
her queenly bearing was the sense of utter loneliness and 
lack of sympathy. She turned to Sir Andrew Melville, and 
said mournfully, " Alas ! how many learned counsellors 
are here, and yet not one for me ! " 

The lord chancellor opened the proceedings by declar- 
ing that the royal prisoner had been brought to trial for 
conspiring the destruction of Queen Elizabeth, the realm 
of England, and the reformed religion. Mary arose, and 
said : " I came to England to crave the aid that had been 
promised me ; and it is well known that, contrary to all 
law and justice, I have been detained in prison ever since. 
As to your commission, I protest against it. I am a free 
sovereign, subject to no one but God, to whom alone I am 
accountable for my actions. I do not consider any of you 
here assembled to be either my peers or my judges to inter- 
rogate me on any of my doings, as I have told you before. 
And I now tell you that it is of my own voluntary pleasure 
I appear in person to answer you by taking God to witness 
that I am innocent, clear, and pure in conscience from the 
charges brought against me." 

In behalf of the crown. Sergeant Gawdy entered into 
the details of the plot, to which Mary answered : " I know 
not Babington ; I have never spoken to him, written to 
him, nor received letters of that kind from him ; nor have 
I ever plotted or entered into plots for the destruction of 
your queen. How could I do so, strictly guarded and 
kept in prison as I have been ? I do not deny that many 
persons have written to me, nor that I have received letters 
from some who are unknown to me ; but to prove that I 
have consented to any wicked designs it will be necessary 
to produce my own handwriting." 

When copies of Babington's letters were read, she said : 
" It may be that Babington wrote those letters ; but let it 




QUEEN MARY PROTESTING AGAINST THE COMMISSIONERS. 



1586. Mary Stuart. 459 

be proved that I received them. If Babington, or any 
other, affirm it, I protest in plain words it is false." Ex- 
tracts from Babington's confession were then read, in 
which certain letters said to have been written in answer 
to those she denied having received were quoted. When 
the passage was repeated which implicated the Earl of 
Arundel and his brothers, the queen, perceiving that their 
destruction was intended, burst into tears, and exclaimed, 
"Ah, woe is me, that the noble house of Howard should 
suffer so much for my sake ! " Then, turning to the com- 
missioners, she asked : " Do you think it probable that I 
would direct any one to apply for assistance to the Earl of 
Arundel, who was a close prisoner in the Tower, or to the 
Earl of Northumberland, who is very young and a perfect 
stranger to me? Besides, if Babington confessed such 
things, why was he put to death instead of being brought 
face'^to face with me as a witness, if so be I were guilty of 
what is laid to my charge ? " 

The crown lawyers said that they had her own letters as 
evidence against her, and produced the copies that had 
been translated from her ciphers. " Nay, bring me mine 
own handwriting," she returned ; "anything to suit a pur- 
pose may be put in what be called copies." The reading 
of these letters took so long that it was past noon when 
the court adjourned for dinner. 

In the afternoon, more letters were produced. These, 
it was said, were written by Mary's secretaries ; but, as 
before, they were the translations into English from the 
French cipher, and all made by the secretary of the Eng- 
lish minister. Not one original minute or cipher was, or 
ever has been, brought forward. Mary demanded that 
her secretaries might be confronted with her ; but, fore- 
seeing this, Elizabeth had pronounced it unnecessary, and 
Burleigh said, " Their oaths are all-sufficient." " I do not 



460 Mary SUiart. 

believe that they have sworn thus," returned Mary ; " but 
if, from fear or hope of reward, they have done so, then 
are they perjured men, and their testimony is worthless, 
because in violation of their previous oaths of fidelity to 
me. What becomes of the majesty of princes, if the oaths 
of their secretaries are to be taken against their solemn 
protestations ? I am held in chains ; I have no council ; 
you have deprived me of my papers, and of all means of 
preparing my defence, which must, therefore, be confined 
to a denial of the crime imputed to me, and I protest, on 
the sacred honor of a queen, that I am innocent of desir- 
ing to take your sovereign's life. I do not, indeed, deny 
that I have longed for liberty, and earnestly labored to 
procure it. Nature impelled me to do that ; but I call 
God to witness that I have never conspired the death of 
the Queen of England. I have written to my friends and 
solicited them to assist me to escape from her miserable 
prisons, in which she has kept me now nearly nineteen 
years, until my health and hopes have been cruelly de- 
stroyed ; but I never wrote the letters you pretend I have, 
nor would I have done so to purchase a crown. I cannot 
say that my secretaries have not received and answered 
such letters ; but if so, it was unknown to me, and I claim 
the privilege of being convicted on the evidence of my 
own writing alone, or by words proved by lawful witnesses ; 
but I am sure nothing of the kind can be produced against 
me." 

And so this make-believe trial went on until evening, 
and was renewed again the next day, the royal prisoner 
being charged with each and all of the plots against 
Elizabeth's life, though she emphatically denied ever 
having taken part in any. When she was accused of 
having sought foreign aid, she declared, " I did not do so 
until I had been cruelly mocked by deceptive treaties, all 



15^6. Mary Stuart. 461 

my amicable offers had been slighted, and my health de- 
stroyed by imprisonment." "When the last treaty was 
holden," interrupted Burleigh, " concerning your liberty, 
Parry was sent privately by Morgan, a dependent of yours, 
to murder the queen." " My lord, you are my enemy," 
retorted the queen. " Yes, I am the enemy of all Queen 
Elizabeth's adversaries," he replied. Mary then demanded 
an advocate to plead her cause ; but it was refused, and 
Burleigh said he would proceed to proofs. Mary con- 
temptuously refused to listen to anything further. " But 
we will hear them," said Burleigh. " I also," replied the 
prisoner, " will hear them in another place, where I can 
defend myself ; for it were extreme folly to stand to the 
judgment of those whom I perceive to be so evidently and 
notoriously prejudiced against me." Then, rising from 
her seat, she demanded to be heard in a full Parliament, 
in presence of the Queen of England and her council. 
This courageous appeal disconcerted the assembly, pro- 
ceedings terminated abruptly, and the court broke up. It 
was impossible for them to pronounce a verdict of guilty 
against an undefended woman on the suspicious evidence 
of what they said were copies of unproduced letters, the 
oaths of imprisoned witnesses who were not permitted to 
appear in court, and the confessions of men who had been 
hanged. Mary never shrank from open investigation of 
her conduct ; but neither in England nor Scotland was she 
ever confronted with her accusers. 

Rumors of the queen's peril reached France ; and 
Henry III. directed Courcelles, his new envoy, then in 
London, to hasten to Scotland, and urge the young king 
to make strong demonstration to the Queen of England 
in behalf of his royal mother. James asked his cousin, 
Francis, Earl of Bothwell, what course he ought to 
pursue. " I think, my liege, if you suffer the process to 



462 Mary SUiart. 

go on," he bluntly replied, " you ought to be hanged your- 
self the next day." George Douglas warned his royal 
master to beware of the lying tales of the pensioned 
slaves of Elizabeth, who were paid to create bad feeling 
between him and his mother. "But," asked James, to 
whom all Mary's complaints to foreign ambassadors had 
been repeated, " has she not threatened that, unless I 
conform myself to her wishes, I should have nothing but 
the lordship of Darnley, which my father had before me ? 
Has she not labored to deprive me of my crown, and set 
up a regent ? Is she not obstinate in maintaining the 
Popish religion ? " " Ay," retorted Douglas, himself a 
member of the Reformed Church, " she adhereth to the 
faith in which she hath been brought up, as your majesty 
doth to yours, and, looking to the conduct of your re- 
ligious guides, thinketh it more meet that you should 
come over to her opinions than she to yours." " Truth 
it is," rejoined the king, with a smile, " I have been 
brought up amid a knavish crew, whose doctrine I could 
never approve ; but yet I know my religion to be the 
true one." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

[A.D. 1586.] The Star-Chamber process took place on 
the 25th of October ; but several of the commissioners 
who had seen Mary Stuart at Fotheringay refused to 
attend, under pretence of illness. Both houses of Parlia- 
ment confirmed the sentence of the commissioners, and 
united in petitioning Elizabeth that the prisoner might be 
executed immediately. In her reply, the English sover- 
eign said that she had been shot at ; and the idea that 
a kinswoman so nearly allied to her in blood as the 
Queen of Scots should be the author of the crime filled 
her with such sorrow that she absented herself from Par- 
liament rather than incur the pain of hearing the matter 
discussed. She added : " I will now tell you a further 
secret, though it be not usual for me to blab forth what I 
know. It is not long since these eyes of mine saw and 
read an oath wherein some bound themselves to kill me 
within a month." This had the effect she intended, and 
raised the excitement against Mary to a still higher pitch 
of fury. 

Meanwhile, the prisoner was too ill to leave her bed, 
and grew more feeble each day. But this did not prevent 
Elizabeth's kinsman. Lord Buckhurst, from making the 
announcement to the invalid that the penalty of death 
had been pronounced against her by the Star Chamber, 
and confirmed by both houses of Parliament, with a peti- 
tion for her immediate execution. She received the com- 
munication calmly, but again protested her innocence. 

463 



464 Maty Stuart. 

The injurious treatment Mary Stuart had experienced, 
both in Scotland and England, from political foes, who 
masked their malice under the pretext of zeal for the true 
religion, made her hate the faith they disgraced. She 
naturally, therefore, clung more fondly than ever to her 
own, and expressed a proud satisfaction that she was a 
martyr to its cause. Under the influence of such feelings, 
her farewell letters to her friends were written, particu- 
larly the one to the pope, professing her love of the 
Roman Catholic Church, and her desire for its re-estab- 
lishment in England. She adds : " I desire to call the 
attention of your holiness to the unhappy state of my poor 
child, and to beg that prayers and all proper means may 
be used for his conversion ; but, in case he prove obsti- 
nate in his errors, I transfer whatever right I possess in 
the realm of England to the King of Spain." 

Such a declaration cannot be excused. Mary had not 
the right to make the transfer ; and such an act of injus- 
tice and bigotry leaves an indelible blemish on her 
memory. 

King James deputed Archibald Douglas to intercede 
with Elizabeth in his mother's behalf. But the appoint- 
ment was unwise ; for, as some one shrewdly observed, 
" Archibald Douglas was present at the murder of his 
majesty's father ; he is now going to have a hand in the 
death of his mother." 

James observed to Courcelles, " The case of the queen, 
my mother, is the strangest that was ever heard of since 
the creation of the world. Have you ever read in his- 
tory of a sovereign princess being detained so many years 
in prison by a neighboring monarch whom she sought as 
a justifier ? She defended herself nobly before the com- 
missioners ; no orator ever spake more eloquently, or bet- 
ter to the purpose. The Queen of England has protested 



is86. Mary SUiart. 467 

that she would never shed the queen my mother's blood, 
but wished her safe in France ; and she has assured 
Archibald Douglas that nothing shall ever induce her to 
agree to Queen Mary's death, although her council and 
Parliament are urgent on the subject from their fears that 
should the queen, my mother, survive her majesty, she 
would endeavor to change the established religion in 
England. I have written a letter to my mother with my 
own hand ; also to four or five of the leading men of the 
English court in her behalf, as well as to her majesty. 
Queen Elizabeth." 

He had indeed done so ; but his language was so 
strong that it offended Elizabeth, and the king's ambas- 
sador was obliged to offer a humble apology, at the same 
time whispering in her ear, " A dead woman bites not," 
This settled the matter ; and on the 4th of December, 
heralds announced Mary's death sentence in the streets 
of London. As the public mind had been kept in a state 
of excitement by reports of Popish plots and Spanish 
invasions, the fiat was received with demonstrations of 
rejoicing. The bells of the city rang out joyously for 
twenty-four hours, bonfires were kindled, and the streets 
resounded with shouts and hurrahs. 

The next day a formal announcement of the fact was 
made to the royal captive, and she was treated in every 
way as a condemned culprit. Her chamber and even her 
bed were hung in black, to denote that she was to be 
regarded as a dead woman. She was, besides, quite cut 
off from all outside intelligence, excepting what it pleased 
her keeper to communicate, and he made it a point never 
to tell her anything agreeable. Therefore she was igno- 
rant of the persevering efforts her son was making to save 
her, as well as of the fact that many of the more chivalric 
nobles of Scotland were urging him to cross the English 



468 Mary Stuart. 

border at the head of an invading army. But James was 
powerless to take such a rash step, for he had not the 
means to make war ; two-thirds of his subjects were op- 
posed to provoking so powerful a neighbor, and he knew 
that if he made a hostile advance, his mother would surely 
be put to death immediately. 

It was a long time before Queen Elizabetli could be 
persuaded to sign Mary's death warrant, but her ministers 
were determined that it should be done for their own 
safety. They knew perfectly well that, should the Queen 
of Scots survive their own sovereign, they would all be 
sent to the block for the injuries they had done her, and 
they preferred that she should be sacrificed. 

[A. D. 1587.] The fatal instrument was delivered by 
Burleigh to Beale on the evening of Friday, February 3, 
with directions for him to assemble two noblemen at Foth- 
eringay Castle and take the necessary measures for seeing 
it carried into effect. It was addressed to George, Earl 
of Shrewsbury, Earl Marshal of England ; Henry, Earl of 
Kent ; George, Earl of Cumberland ; Henry, Earl of 
Derby, and Henry, Earl of Pembroke. Of these, only 
the Earls of Kent and Shrewsbury acted. The latter did 
so very reluctantly ; but the Earl of Kent, and Beale, were 
stern fanatics, who hated Mary so much that they under- 
took the mission almost with pleasure. Beale travelled in 
the same carriage with the executioner, who was clad in a 
complete suit of black velvet, and they arrived at Fother- 
ingay on Sunday, February 5. They immediately held a 
private conference with Sir Amyas Paulet for settling the 
preliminary arrangements. 

Poor Mary was meantime hourly expecting her death. 
In addition to her other trials, she had been deprived of 
the advice and support of her faithful master of the 
household, Sir Andrew Melville, who, without any reason 



1587- Mary Stuart. 469 

being given, had been removed in the middle of January. 
Her faithful servants watched the arrival of every stranger 
with dread, and they well knew what the advent of Beale, 
with his companion, signified. Mary was perfectly calm ; 
but, feeling the premonitory symptoms of one of her 
attacks of illness coming on, she begged Bourgoigne to 
administer remedies at once, saying : " For when the 
summons for my death comes, I would not willingly be so 
placed that my incapacity to rise from my bed might be 
construed into reluctance or fear." 

The Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, with the High 
Sheriff of Northamptonshire, and their attendants, arrived 
on Tuesday, February 7. In the afternoon they demanded 
an audience of the Queen of Scots. She replied, " Being 
indisposed, I am preparing to go to bed, but if the matter 
be of importance I will receive their lordships presently." 
They said it was a matter that would brook no delay, and 
Mary called for her mantle, which she had thrown off, and 
seating herself in her usual place at the foot of her bed, 
in an easy-chair, by a small work-table, ordered her door 
to be opened. Thereupon the two earls, introduced by 
the keepers, Paulet and Drury, and followed by Beale, 
entered bareheaded. Mary received them with calm dig- 
nity, and returned their salutations in the easy, gracious 
manner that was natural to her. Shrewsbury briefly ex- 
plained the business on which they had come, and re- 
quested her to hear the warrant. Beale then read it 
aloud. Mary listened attentively, and at the conclusion 
bowed her head majestically, crossed herself, and said : 
" In the name of God, these tidings are welcome, and I 
bless and praise him that the end of all my bitter suffer- 
ings is at hand. I did not think the queen, my sister, 
would ever have consented to my death ; but God's will 
be done. That soul is far unworthy of the joys of heaven 



470 Mary Stuart. 

whose body cannot endure for a moment the stroke of the 
executioner." Her earnestness brought tears to her eyes, 
but a triumphant smile was on her lips. She asked what 
time was appointed for her to suffer. " To-morrow morn- 
ing at eight o'clock, madam," replied Shrewsbury. " That 
is very sudden, and leaves no time for preparation," said 
Mary. " In consequence of my papers being seized and 
detained, I have not yet made my will ; and it is necessary 
that I should endeavor to make some arrangements to 
provide for my faithful servants, who have sacrificed every- 
thing for my sake, and who, in losing me, will lose every- 
thing." She begged for more time, but Shrewsbury 
exclaimed abruptly : " No, no, madam ; it is not in our 
power to prolong the time. You must die to-morrow, at 
the hour we have named." 

The Earl of Kent told her she might have either the 
Bishop or Dean of Peterborough to prepare her for death, 
and added : " The dean is a very learned theologian, and 
will be able to show you the errors of the false religion in 
which you have been brought up ; and as you have now so 
little time to remain in the world, it would be well to em- 
brace the true faith, instead of amusing yourself with 
Popish follies and childish toys. If your majesty could 
hear so learned a man as the dean, you might be able to 
discern the difference." " I have both heard and read 
much on the subject, particularly since my detention in 
England," said Mary, " but my mind is fully made up that 
I will die in the religion in which I was baptized ; and I 
would willingly give ten thousand lives, if I had them, 
and not only shed my blood, but endure the severest tor- 
tures in its cause." 

" Madam, your life would be the death of our religion, 
and your death will be its preservation," returned Kent. 
" Ah ! " exclaimed she, " I did not flatter myself with the 



1587. Mary Stuart. 47 1 

thought that I was worthy of such a death, and I humbly 
receive it as an earnest of my acceptance into the number 
of God's chosen servants." She declined the ministry of 
either the Bishop or Dean of Peterborough, and begged to 
be allowed to see her own almoner. This was refused by 
the earls, who said it was against the laws of the land. 
" Then," said Mary, " I must trust in the mercy of God to 
excuse the want of such rites as his holy church deems 
essential in a preparation for death," 

The earls had now risen to depart, but Mary desired to 
put some questions to them. " Did the Queen of England 
send any answer to my last letter ? " " None," was the 
reply. "Will she accede to .my request to allow my 
body to be removed by my servants for burial either 
in the Royal Abbey of St. Denis, by the late king, my 
husband, or by the late queen, my mother, at Rheims ? " 
They did not know. " Will your queen return my papers 
and allow my poor servants to receive the trifling pay- 
ments I have bequeathed them?" Paulet said that as 
her papers could give no pleasure to the queen's majesty, 
he had no doubt that they as well as her other be- 
longings would be returned. She asked several more 
questions, but received similar unsatisfactory answers to 

them all. 

When the earls withdrew, the servants, both male and 
female, burst into passionate lamentations. Mary tried 
to pacify them. "Up, Jane Kennedy," she cried in a 
cheerful tone, to her oldest and dearest friend among 
them, " leave weeping and be doing, for the time is short. 
Did I not tell you, my children, that it would come to 
this?" she added, turning to the others. "Blessed be 
God that it has come and fear and sorrow are at an end. 
Weep not, neither lament, for it will avail nothing ; but 
xejoice rather that you see me so near the end of my long 



4/2 Mary Stuart. 

troubles and afflictions. Now, then, take it patiently, and 
let us pray to God together." 

The men withdrew in tears, and she and her ladies con- 
tinued for a long time at their devotions, after which she 
proceeded to business, counting and dividing all the 
money she had and putting each sum into a separate little 
purse with a slip of paper on which she wrote the name of 
the person for whom it was destined. She desired supper 
to be brought in earlier than usual, and was served at 
that meal by Doctor Bourgoigne, who waited on her now 
at table, in the absence of Sir Andrew Melville. She ate 
sparingly, and in the course of the meal tried to cheer her 
sorrowful attendant, who, instead of consoling her, did 
nothing but wipe his eyes and endeavor to repress his 
bursts of weeping. " Did you not mark the power of 
truth, Bourgoigne," she asked, " during the discourse I 
had with the Earl of Kent, who was sent hither, I suppose 
to convert me ? But it would require a doctor of a different 
fashion to do that. I was, they said, to die for attempt- 
ing the life of the Queen of England, of which you know 
I am innocent ; but now this earl lets out the fact that it 
is on account of my religion. Oh, glorious thought, that 
I should be chosen to die for such a cause." 

After she had supped, she caused a glass to be filled 
with wine, and drank to her attendants, bidding them to 
pledge her for the last time. They did so on their knees, 
mingling their fast-flowing tears with their wine. One 
and all entreated her to forgive them if they had ever 
offended or injured her, which she readily promised to do, 
and, in turn, she entreated them to pardon her if she had 
ever treated any of them with harshness or injustice. 
Then she entreated them to be constant in their religion, 
and to love one another. 

When she arose from the table, she requested all the 



1587- Mary SUiart. 473 

articles of her wardrobe to be brought to her ; these she 
divided among her friends and servants, absent as well as 
present, forgetting no one, from the Kings of France and 
Spain down to the lowest damsel in her prison household. 
The diamond ring with which the Duke of Norfolk 
plighted his troth to her was for the first time removed 
from the chain to which it was suspended around her 
neck, and sent to the Spanish ambassador. 

Having given away everything belonging to her except- 
ing the dress she intended to wear the next day, and a 
handkerchief fringed with gold, which she gave to Jane 
Kennedy to bandage her eyes with for the block, she 
wrote to De Pre'an, her almoner, who, though under the 
same roof with her, was not permitted to see her. She 
told him that she had refused the services of a Protestant 
minister, and begged him to recommend such prayers 
as he considered best adapted for her and to keep vigil 
and prayer with and for her that night. She declared she 
died innocent and requested his absolution. Then she 
began a farewell letter to the King of France telling him 
that she was to die at eight o'clock the next morning, 
that she died innocent of any crime, and recommending 
her faithful servants to his care. 

After she had finished she bathed, and, as it was then 
nearly two o'clock, Jane Kennedy read from a religious book 
to her, which was always done before retiring, and then she 
lay down to rest, but not to sleep, and her ladies stood 
around her bed, refusing to leave her even for a moment. 
Her eyes closed, but her lips continued to move in silent 
prayer. At six o'clock she said : " I have but two hours 
to live," and bade her ladies prepare her for what she 
termed "the festival." She wore a widow's dress of 
black velvet spangled all over with gold, a black satin 
waist and a petticoat of crimson velvet ; a white veil of 



474 Mary Stuart. 

the most delicate texture, of the fashion worn by prin- 
cesses of the highest rank, thrown over her coif and 
descending to the ground. After begging her ladies tc 
be near her when she fell and to cover her body that 
there might be no indelicate exposure, she entered her 
oratory alone and prayed. 

The wintry morning dawned before she re-appeared. 
She returned to her bed-chamber, where, seating herself 
by the fire, she began to console her weeping ladies by 
declaring the comfort she felt in her approaching release 
from her long afflictions ; she added : " I desire you all to 
be present at my death, in order to bear testimony of my 
deportment and my firm adherence to my religion ; and 
although I know it will be heart-breaking to you to see me 
go through such a tragedy on the scaffold, yet I pray you 
to be witnesses of all I say and do, for I am sure that I 
could have none more faithful. After all is over, I hope 
you may be allowed to carry my remains to France, and I 
pray you to remain together until you can do so. I leave 
you my coach and all my horses for your use to take you 
to France, and I have left Bourgoigne money enough to 
pay the expenses of your journey." 

Fearing that her strength would be exhausted, the 
doctor besought her to partake of a glass of wine and 
a piece of toast which he had prepared for her. She 
smiled, and thanked him for bringing her last meal. The 
will, which she had made hurriedly the night before, was 
then read aloud in her presence, according to her desire, 
and when this was concluded she said : " Now, my friends, 
I have finished with the world ; let us all kneel and pray 
together for the last time." 

The castle clock struck eight. The high sheriff, 
Thomas Andrews, knocked loudly on the ante-chamber 
door to announce that the time had come. He was told 



MARY BIDDING FAREWELL TO HER ATTENDANTS. 



1587. Mary Stuart. A77 

that her majesty was at prayer with her servants, and 
withdrew, but fifteen minutes later he knocked again, and 
the door being opened, he entered with Sir Amyas Paulet, 
the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, Beale, and several 
others. Mary was still on her knees at the upper end of 
the chamber, and remained absorbed in her devotions 
until the sheriff approached, and in a faltering tone said: 
" Madam, the lords have sent me for you." Turning 
towards him, she said, fearlessly, " Yes ; let us go." 

Bourgoigne assisted her to rise from her knees, and 
asked her if she would take the ivory crucifix from the 
ahar; she thanked him for reminding her of it, and gave 
it to one of her servants to carry for her. The doctor 
and Gourion, the surgeon, supported her, for she could 
not move without help, and she crossed the chamber; 
but before she reached the door, they paused and said : 
" Madam, we and all your servants are ready to do for 
you, to wait upon you to your last sigh, and even, if per- 
mitted, to die with you ; but there is one thing we cannot 
and will not do ; no power on earth shall induce us to 
lead you to the scaffold." " You are right," replied Mary, 
and, addressing herself to the sheriff, who preceded her, 
said : " My servants will not lead me to death, and, as I 
cannot walk without support, I must have assistance." 
Two of Sir Amyas Paulet's servants were accordingly 
appointed to support her, while her own followed, weeping 
and lamenting. But when they reached the outer door of 
the gallery, they were rudely stopped and told they could 
go no further. A passionate scene ensued, both ladies 
and gentlemen refusing to be separated from their royal 
mistress. Bourgoigne appealed to the earls, but they 
would not yield. Then Mary said : " I conjure you that 
these poor afflicted servants of mine may be present with 
me at my death, that their eyes may behold how patiently 



47 S Mary Stuart. 

their queen and mistress will endure it." " Madam, that 
which you desire cannot conveniently be granted," said 
the Earl of Kent, brutally, "for, if it should, it is to be 
feared that some of them, with speeches and other 
behavior, would both be grievous to your grace, and 
troublesome and unpleasing to us and our company, of 
which we have had some experience ; also, that they 
would not stick to put some superstitious trumpery in 
practice, if it were but in dipping their handkerchiefs in 
your grace's blood, whereof it were not meet for us to 
give permission." 

" My lord, I will give my word, although it be but dead, 
that they will do none of these things," answered Mary. 
" But alas, poor souls ! it would do them good to bid their 
mistress farewell, and I hope your mistress, being a 
maiden queen, will vouchsafe, in regard to womanhood, 
that I shall have some of my own women about me at my 
death. I know her majesty hath not given you such 
straight commission, but that you might grant me a far 
greater courtesy than this, even if I were a woman of far 
meaner calling ; but I am cousin to your queen, descended 
from the blood-royal of Henry VII., a married Queen of 
France, and the anointed Queen of Scotland." 

After a consultation between the earls and her keepers, 
she was told that she might select two of her women and 
four of her men servants. She named Jane Kennedy and 
Elizabeth Curie, her oldest and best beloved ladies, who 
always slept in her room, and had been in her service for 
more than twenty years. Sir Andrew Melville, master of 
her household ; Bourgoigne, her physician ; Gourion, her 
surgeon ; and Gervais, her apothecar}'. Then she turned, 
tenderly bade the others farewell, and blessed them. 
They flung themselves at her feet, kissing her hand and 
clinging to her garments ; and when they were at last 



1587. Mary Stuart. 479 

parted from her, and the door locked upon them, both 
men and women wept aloud and their cries were heard 

even in the hall. 

At the foot of the stairs, which, on account of her lame- 
ness, she descended slowly, she was met by Andrew Mel- 
ville' who was now permitted to join her. He fell on his 
knee's, wringing his hands, and crying, "Woe is me, that 
ever it should be my hard hap to carry back such heavy 
tidings to Scotland as that my good and gracious queen 
and mistress has been beheaded in England." 

" Weep not, Melville, my good, faithful servant," she 
replied ; " thou shouldst rather rejoice that thou shalt now 
see the 'end of the long troubles of Mary Stuart. Know, 
Melville, that this world is but vanity, and full of sorrows. 
I am Catholic, thou Protestant; but, as there is but one 
Christ, I charge thee in his name to bear witness that I 
die firm to my religion, a true Scotchwoman, and true to 
France. Commend me to my dearest and most sweet son. 
Tell him I have done nothing to prejudice him in the 
realm, nor to disparage his dignity ; and that although I 
could wish he were of my religion, yet if he live in the 
fear of God according to that in which he hath been nur- 
tured, I doubt not he will do well. Tell him, from my 
example, never to rely too much on human aid, but to seek 
that which is from above. If he follow my advice, he will 
have the blessing of God in heaven, as I now give him 
mine on earth. May God forgive those who have thirsted 
for my blood as the hart doth for brooks of water. O God, 
thou art the author of truth, and the truth itself ; thou 
knowest that I have always wished the union of England 
and Scotland." The Earl of Kent interrupted her, saying, 
" Madam, time weareth away apace." " Farewell, good 
Melville," she added, " farewell ; pray for thy queen and 
mistress." She bowed herself on his neck, and wept. 



480 Mary Stuart. 

She who had experienced the ingratitude of Moray, Leth- 
ington, and Mar, knew how to appreciate the faithful love 
of Andrew Melville. 

The procession went forward in the following order : 
first the sheriff and his men ; next, Mary's keepers, Sir 
Amyas Paulet and Sir Drue Drury, the Earl of Kent, and 
Beale ; then the Earl of Shrewsbury, as earl marshal, 
bearing his baton raised, immediately preceding the royal 
victim. Melville followed, bearing her train, and then her 
two weeping ladies, clad in mourning garments. The rear 
was brought up by Bourgoigne, Gourion, and Gervais. 

A platform had been erected at the upper end of the 
great banqueting-hall at Fotheringay, near the fireplace, 
in which, on account of the coldness of the weather, a 
large fire was burning. On the scaffold was placed the 
block, the axe, a chair, covered with black cloth, for the 
queen, with a cushion of crimson velvet before it, and two 
stools for the Earls of Kent and Shrewsbury. About a 
hundred gentlemen, who had been admitted to behold the 
mournful spectacle, stood at the lower end of the hall ; 
but the scaffold was strongly guarded by the sheriff's men 
to prevent the possibility of a rescue. 

Everybody was impressed by the melancholy sweetness 
and beauty of Mary Stuart's countenance, as she walked 
the length of the hall of death. At the foot of the scaf- 
fold she paused, because she could not mount the steps 
without assistance. Sir Amyas Paulet offered his hand, 
which she accepted with queenly courtesy, and said, " I 
thank you, sir ; this is the last trouble I shall ever give you." 

Having calmly seated herself in the chair that had been 
provided for her, with the two earls on either side, and the 
executioner in front, holding the axe, she looked about 
composedly ; while Beale sprang upon the scaffold, and 
in a loud, harsh, unfeeling tone read the death-warrant. 




EARL OF ESSEX. 



isSy- Ma7y Stiiari. 483 

At its conclusion she bowed her head and crossed herself. 
" Now, madam, you see what you have to do," said the 
Earl of Shrewsbury. " Do your duty," she replied, as she 
began to pray fervently in Latin, in French, and finally in 
English. 

Seeing her preparing to lay her head on the block, the 
two executioners knelt before her, and asked her forgive- 
ness. " I forgive you and all the world with all my heart," 
she replied ; " for I hope this death will put an end to all 
my troubles." They offered to assist her in removing her 
mantle ; but she drew back, and requested them not to 
touch her, observing with a smile, " I have not been accus- 
tomed to be served by such pages of honor, nor to disrobe 
before so numerous a company." Then beckoning to 
Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curie, who were -on their 
knees in tears below, they came to her on the scaffold ; 
but when they saw for what purpose they were required 
they began to scream and cry, and were too much agitated 
to render assistance, and she began to take out the pins 
herself. " Do not weep," she said, tenderly reproving 
them ; " I am very happy to leave this world. You ought 
to rejoice to see me die in so good a cause. Are you not 
ashamed to weep ? Nay, if you do not stop these lamen- 
tations, I must send you away, for you know I have prom- 
ised for you." 

Then she took off her gold pomander, chain, and rosary, 
which she had previously asked one of her ladies to carry 
to the Countess of Arundel, as a last token of her regard. 
The executioner seized it, and stuck it in his shoe. Jane 
Kennedy, with the resolute spirit of a brave Scotchwoman, 
snatched it from him, and a struggle ensued. Mary mildly 
interposed, " Friend, let her have it ; she will give you 
more than its value in money." He sullenly replied, " It 
is my perquisite." 



484 Mary Stuart. 

Before proceeding further in her preparations, Mary- 
took a last farewell of her weeping ladies, and blessed 
them. Then her upper garment was removed, and she 
remained in her petticoat of crimson velvet and bodice 
with crimson velvet sleeves. Jane Kennedy now drew 
from her pocket the gold-fringed handkerchief which the 
queen had given her to bind her eyes, folded it cornerwise, 
and with trembling fingers prepared to execute this last 
office, but she burst into tears again and sobbed aloud. 

Mary placed her finger on her lips, and said : " Hush, I 
have promised for you ; weep not, but pray for me." 
When the women had pinned the handkerchief over the 
eyes of their beloved mistress, they were turned off of the 
scaffold, and she was left alone. Kneeling on the cushion, 
she saidj in her usual clear, firm voice : " In te, Domine, 
speravi — In thee, Lord, have I hoped ; let me never be 
put to confusion." The executioner guided her to the 
block, upon which she bowed her head, saying : " In ma- 
nus tuas — Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." 
The Earl of Shrewsbury gave the signal, at the same time 
turning away and covering his face with his hand, to con- 
ceal his tears. The executidner raised his axe and struck 
a cruel but ineffectual blow, for he had missed his aim, 
and inflicted a deep wound on the skull. Mary neither 
screamed nor stirred ; two more blows followed in quick 
succession, and the severed head, streaming with blood, 
was held up to the gaze of the people. " God save Queen 
Elizabeth ! " exclaimed the executioner. " So let all her 
enemies perish ! " added the Dean of Peterborough. One 
solitary voice responded, " Amen ! " It was that of the 
Earl of Kent. 

The weeping ladies approached, and besought the exe- 
cutioner to permit them to remove the body of their be- 
loved mistress to her bed-chamber, in order that they 



1587. Maty Stuart. 485 

might perform the last duties ; but they were rudely hur- 
ried out of the hall, and locked into an adjoining room. 
One faithful attendant, however, still lingered, and refused 
to be thrust away ; this was Mary's little Skye terrier, that 
had followed her to the scaffold unnoticed. The animal 
had crept close to her when she laid her head on the 
block, and was found crouching under her garments, sat- 
urated with blood. It was only by violence that he could 
be removed, and then he went and lay between her head 
and her body, moaning piteously. He could never again 
be induced to partake of food, and pined to death. 

When Queen Elizabeth was informed the next day that 
Mary had been beheaded, she was excessively indignant, 
wept bitterly, and launched into such furious threats of 
vengeance against the men who had taken so much au- 
thority upon themselves that they kept well out of her 
way, many of them pretending to be confined to bed with 
illness. 

Elizabeth wrote a most humble apology to James, ex- 
pressing her sorrow for what she called " the miserable 
accident," and telling him that she had sent her near 
kinsman. Sir Robert Carey, to explain all the facts con- 
nected with his mother's decapitation. James refused to 
receive the envoy, and sent a messenger to warn him not 
to advance beyond Berwick, for the national indignation 
was so great that he knew it would be impossible to pro- 
tect him against the fury of the people, if he ventured to 
enter Scotland. 

James ordered the deepest mourning to be worn for his 
royal mother : all the nobles complied, excepting the high- 
spirited Earl of Sinclair, who appeared before the king in 
a full suit of armor. " Have you not seen my order for a 
general mourning ? " asked James, with a frown. " Yes," 
answered the earl ; " this is the proper mourning for the 



486 Mary Stuart. 

Queen of Scotland," and he struck the hilt of his sword 
with his steel-clad fist. But James dared not indulge his pri- 
vate feelings at the expense of his subjects, and he had not 
the means for levying war against his powerful neighbor. 
After a while, he sent Sir George Home and Melville to 
receive Elizabeth's letters and explanation from Carey, 
and, in his reply, he exonerated her from blame. 

Early in March, the obsequies of Mary Stuart, their be- 
loved queen-dowager, were solemnized by the king, nobles 
and people of France, with great pomp, in the Cathedral 
of Notre Dame, and the Archbishop of Bourges delivered 
an eloquent, touching address. Six months passed away 
before Queen Elizabeth considered it necessary to accord 
a state funeral to her hapless kinswoman, and then only 
in consequence of the urgent appeals of her afflicted ser- 
vants, and the remonstrances of King James. The place 
selected for the interment was Peterborough Cathedral. 
Heralds and officers of the wardrobe were sent by Eliza- 
beth to Fotheringay Castle, to make arrangements for the 
removal of the royal remains, and to prepare mourning 
for the servants of the murdered queen, those who had 
been detained at Chartley having joined the others. 
Queen Elizabeth had provided black cloth for mourning 
cloaks for Sir Andrew Melville and Bourgoigne, and 
gowns for the ladies. Besides, she sent a milliner to 
make head-dresses after the English fashion for funerals, 
but the mourners said they would wear the gowns that had 
been made for them immediately after the death of their 
beloved mistress, and declined Elizabeth's gifts. 

On the evening of Sunday, July 30, the garter king-of- 
arms arrived at Fotheringay Castle, with five other heralds, 
and forty horsemen, to escort the remains of Mary Stuart 
to the cathedral, having brought with them a funeral car 
covered with black velvet richly embroidered with the 



1587- Mary Stuart. 487 

arms of Scotland. The heralds placed the body, which 
was enclosed in lead, within an outer coffin, into the car, 
and started with it by torch-light from the castle, followed 
by the train of men and women, at ten o'clock at night. 
The procession reached Peterborough between one and 
two in the morning, and was received at the minster door 
by the bishop, dean, and chapter. The body was rever- 
ently placed in the vault prepared for it, on the south side 
of the choir, but all ceremonies were reserved for the next 
day, August i. 

Queen Elizabeth was represented by the Countess of 
Bedford, who came from London with a company of cere- 
monial mourners. A sumptuous feast was provided for 
them in the grand banqueting-hall of the bishop's palace, 
which was hung with black; and there was a seat, beneath 
a purple velvet canopy, with the arms of England, prepared 
for Queen Elizabeth's proxy. 

The solemnities began as early as eight o'clock on the 
morning of 'August i. The Countess of Bedford, as chief 
mourner, attended by all the lords and ladies, and the Bish- 
ops of Peterborough and Lincoln, was brought into the 
presence-chamber, where the procession formed. Sup- 
ported by the Earls of Rutland and Lincoln, her train 
borne by Lady St. John, the countess walked into the great 
hall, where a figure representing Queen Mary lay in state 
on a royal bier. This was carried into the church, followed 
by all the English mourners, and Mary's servants, male and 
female, among whom was her almoner, De Pre'an, bearing 
a large silver cross. 

The accustomed anthems were sung, and the Bishop of 
Lincoln preached a sermon ; but all the Scottish Queen's 
train, excepting Sir Andrew Melville and the two Mow- 
brays, who were members of the Reformed Church, 
marched out, for they would not take part in the prayers. 



a^^ 



488 Mary Stuart. 

nor would they listen to the preaching. This greatly 
offended the English portion of the congregation, some of 
whom called after them and wanted to force them to re- 
main, but they said they were Catholics and could not 
sympathize with Protestant prayers or ceremonies. 

After reposing for twenty-five years in Peterborough 
Cathedral, the remains of Mary Stuart were exhumed by 
order of her son James, and re-interred in Westminster 
Abbey, in the centre of the south aisle of Henry VII. 's 
chapel. He erected a stately monument to the memory 
of his mother, which represents her lying beneath a regal 
canopy, with her head resting on a cushion, and the Scot- 
tish lion at her feet. The likeness of the queen is said to 
be perfect. 

"As long," observes her eloquent French biographer, 
Caussin, " as there shall be eyes or tears in this vale of 
misery, there shall be tears distilled on those royal ashes, 
and the piety of the living shall never cease, with full 
hands, to strew lilies, violets, and roses on her tomb." 
Says Brantome : " No man ever saw her w'thout love, or 
will read her history without pity." 



LbJa'07 



